Is U.S. ready to settle with Native Americans?

Feds get judge pulled from case
But those victories ended last month when the government won a major battle by removing Judge Lamberth from the case, who had repeatedly vowed to expose the Department of Interior, whose "spite," he said, has led it to turn its "wrath" on trust beneficiaries and engage in "willful misconduct," "iniquities," "scandals," "dirty tricks" and "outright villainy."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, siding with the government, removed Lamberth. The appeals court found that Lamberth had lost his objectivity. "We conclude, reluctantly, that this is one of those rare cases in which reassignment is necessary," the judges wrote. The court ordered the case reassigned to another judge. The appeals court said, "Our ruling today presents an opportunity for a fresh start ... We expect both parties to work with the new judge to resolve this case expeditiously and fairly."

Repeated federal reports have exposed corruption and mismanagement in the Indian Trust system -- no one has ever attempted a complete accounting. Cobell, a Blackfoot Indian from Montana, asked the court to find out what no one else could. She asked, "How much money has the government earned on tribal lands from leases for oil and mineral and timber and grazing?" By law, that money is meant for the Indian Trust Fund.

But the appeals court concluded that Lamberth went too far, "on several occasions the district court or its appointees exceeded the role of impartial arbiter." The Court wrote that Lamberth believed that racism at Interior continued, quoting a Lamberth ruling in which he states the department is "a dinosaur -- the morally and culturally oblivious hand-me-down of a disgracefully racist and imperialist government that should have been buried a century ago, the last pathetic outpost of the indifference and anglo-centrism we thought we had left behind."

Court: Agency’s record ‘deplorable’
Recognizing the harm done to Indian tribes by the mismanagement of the trust fund, the appeals court wrote: "This case serves as an appalling reminder of the evils that result when large numbers of the politically powerless are placed at the mercy of institutions engendered and controlled by a politically powerful few. It reminds us that even today our great democratic enterprise remains unfinished. And it reminds us, finally, that the terrible power of government, and the frailty of the restraints on the exercise of that power, are never fully revealed until government turns against the people."

The appeals court also issued a stern warning to the government, that it has, "an obligation to rise above its deplorable record and help fashion an effective remedy."

In their letter Tuesday to McCain, Interior Secretary Kempthorne writes: "If we can define a legislative settlement consistent with our collective goals, I believe, together, we can determine what financial consideration and level of funding for improved beneficiary services would be provided to Indian Country."

McCain warned that establishing a monetary settlement won't be easy. "The OMB will be involved," he said. The Office of Management and Budget, McCain intimated, was not happy even with the $8 billion number he had suggested in his legislative draft.

The chief judge of the District Court, Thomas Hogan, has 30 days from the appeals court ruling to appoint a new judge to hear this case.

McCain said he didn't think that Congress or the Indian land-owners could wait another 10 years mired in litigation to resolve the issue.

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