The Court retained judicial oversight of the system for a minimum of five years, to ensure that it is overhauled, and ordered Interior to provide an historical accounting of all Trust funds. An appeal by the government, arguing that the judge had overreached his authority, was unanimously rejected by a three-judge Appeals Court panel on February, 23, 2001.

To help enforce his orders, Judge Lamberth has appointed both a Special Master, who oversees the preservation and production of Trust documents, and a Federal Monitor, who provides the judge with assessments of the

truthfulness of Interior's representations to the Court regarding execution of Trust reform. In his first report to the court - 19 months after Judge Lamberth's December 21, 1999 order - the Federal Monitor declared that Interior's stated efforts to provide an accounting in compliance with the order are a sham, are "still at the starting gate" and have been marked by "unrealistic responses and evasion."

A trial on Phase Two - accounting for the money - has not yet been scheduled.

Other Recent Developments
U.S. Representatives Kildee (D-MI) and Hayworth (R-AZ), Co-chairs of the Congressional Native American Caucus, led the fight, Thursday, July 18,in a bi-partisan manner to persuade Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to accept two amendments that strike anti-Indian provisions from the FY 2003 Interior Appropriations bill. The House voted to adopt the amendments striking the offensive language.