WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Interior Department has “unreasonably delayed” its accounting for billions of dollars owed to Indian landholders.
The federal agency “has not, and cannot, remedy the breach” of its responsibilities to account for the Indian money, U.S. District Judge James Robertson said in a 165-page decision in a long-running federal lawsuit alleging mismanagement of Indian trust funds.
“Indeed, it is now clear that completion of the required accounting is an impossible task,” Robertson said.
The suit, first filed in 1996, claims the government has mismanaged more than $100 billion in oil, gas, timber and other royalties held in trust from Indian lands dating to 1887.
An Interior Department spokeswoman said officials were reviewing Robertson’s decision and had no immediate comment.
Robertson said he will schedule a hearing in the next month to discuss a way to solve the problem. He added that his conclusion that Interior is unable to perform an adequate accounting does not mean that the task is hopeless.
“It does mean that a remedy must be found for the department’s unrepaired, and irreparable, breach of its fiduciary duty over the last century. And it does mean that the time has come to bring this suit to a close,” Robertson said.
Filed by Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell, the lawsuit deals with individual Indians’ lands. Several tribes have sued separately, claiming mismanagement of their lands.
The government proposed paying $7 billion partly to settle the Cobell lawsuit last March, but that was rejected by the plaintiffs, who estimate the government’s liability could exceed $100 billion.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said Wednesday he hopes the judge’s decision is a catalyst for a settlement.
“Ultimately, the question is going to be for the administration and the Justice Department, are they willing to settle for all of these years of mismanagement?” he said.
