Sen. Tester joins Elouise Cobell to celebrate historic settlement

BILLINGS – Dozens of members of the Blackfeet community came together Saturday to celebrate the historic settlement of the Cobell versus Salazar lawsuit.

Elouise Cobell was the lead plaintiff in the case, which was filed 15 years ago in U.S. District Court. The case alleged that the U.S. government had mismanaged more than 300,000 American Indians' trust accounts.

Congress passed legislation approving the settlement in December. President Barack Obama signed legislation last month to pay $4.6 billion dollars to Native Americans and black farmers in order to address claims of government mistreatment over many decades.

To celebrate the settlement, Senator Jon Tester joined Cobell along with others in Browning to talk about what the settlement means for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
He says although many thought this day would never come, Cobell's persistence has taught others to never give up and will help American Indians across the country.

Elouise Cobell will be on our "Face the State" show Sunday morning at 9 AM on Q2.