Elouise cobell biography of abraham

Blackfoot tribal elder, addict, banker, and rancher

Elouise Pepion Cobell, also known as Yellow Gull Woman (November 5, &#; Oct 16, )^[1] (NiitsítapiBlackfoot Confederacy), was a tribal elder and heretical, banker, rancher, and lead applicant in the groundbreaking class-action execution Cobell v. Salazar (). That challenged the United States' failing of trust funds belonging contract more than , individual Inborn Americans.^[2] She pursued the vogue from , challenging the make to account for fees cheat resource leases.

In , authority government approved a $ legions settlement for the trust occurrence. Major portions of the conformity were to partially compensate bizarre account holders, and to stop working back fractionated land interests, add-on restore land to reservations. Flow also provided for a $60 million scholarship fund for Untamed free Americans and Alaskan Natives, styled the Cobell Education Scholarship Underwrite in her honor.^[3] The post is the largest ever complicated a class action against rank federal government.^[4]

Buy-back of lands has continued, restoring acreage to prestige tribes. As of November , $40 million had been unsolicited to the scholarship fund lump the government, from its invest in of lands. It has pressurize somebody into $ million to buy resume the equivalent of million land in fractionated land interests, curative the land base of have misgivings about to tribal control.^[5]

In November , Cobell's work on behalf obvious Native Americans was honored moisten the award of a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom strong President Barack Obama; her lad Turk Cobell accepted the accord on her behalf.^[5]

Biography

Elouise Pépion was born in on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, the order of nine children of Deferential and Catherine Pépion. She was a great-granddaughter of Mountain Large, one of the legendary cutting edge of the Blackfeet Nation.^[6] She grew up on her parents' cattle ranch on the rider. Like many reservation families, they did not have electricity disseminate running water. Pépion attended grand one-room schoolhouse until high school.^[4] She graduated from Great Deluge Business College and attended Montana State University.^[6] She had change leave before graduation to attention for her mother, who was dying of cancer.^[7]

After her mother's death, Elouise moved to City, where she met and spliced Alvin Cobell, another Blackfeet life in Washington at the time.^[7] They had one son, Turki Cobell. After returning to say publicly reservation to help her pop with the family ranch, Elouise Cobell became treasurer for primacy Blackfeet Nation.

She founded probity Blackfeet National Bank, the primary national bank located on effect Indian reservation and owned provoke a Native American tribe.^[7] Refurbish , Cobell won a General genius award for her see to on the bank and Innate financial literacy.^[7] She donated credit to of that money to centre her class-action suit against nobility federal government because of closefitting mismanagement of trust funds last leasing fees, which she difficult filed in (See below: Thoughtprovoking federal management of trust funds)

After twenty other tribes wedded conjugal the bank to form greatness Native American Bank, Cobell became Executive Director of the Wealth American Community Development Corporation, sheltered non-profit affiliate. The Native Inhabitant Bank is based in Denver, Colorado.^[6]

Her professional, civic experience attend to expertise included serving as Co-Chair of Native American Bank, NA.; a Board Member for Good cheer Interstate Bank; a Trustee loosen the National Museum of grandeur American Indian; as well primate a member of other wood.

Throughout her life, Cobell too helped her husband to work their ranch, raising cattle obtain crops. Cobell was active unite local agriculture and environmental issues. She founded the first solid ground trust in Indian Country folk tale served as a Trustee confirm the Nature Conservancy of Montana.

Cobell died at the interval of 65 on October 16, , in Great Falls, Montana, after a brief battle go one better than cancer.^[1][8]

Cobell was the former commandant of Montana's Elvis Presley divide club, but left these activities to focus on her guide lawsuit. In her honor, the sum of car radios during her sepulture procession were tuned to Elvis songs. Her family arranged advice have at the viewing calligraphic pair of life-size Elvis cutouts standing against the rear uncharacteristic. A photo of Cobell don her family at Graceland flashed occasionally in the rotating put on a big screen skyward. The buffet featured a giantess cake, decorated with the lyric, "In Loving Memory of Elouise Cobell", and a picture marvel at Elvis.^[9]

Challenging federal management of delegate funds

While Treasurer of the Blackfeet Tribe for more than neat as a pin decade, Cobell discovered many irregularities in the management of confirm held in trust by decency United States for the race and for individual Indians. These funds were derived from fees collected by the government be thankful for Indian trust lands leased shelter lumber, oil production, grazing, gun and minerals, etc., from which the government was supposed expectation pay royalties to Indian owners. Over time accounts became far-away as original trust lands were divided among descendants, and Cobell found that tribal members were not receiving their fair size of trust funds.

Along meet the Intertribal Monitoring Association (on which she served as President), Cobell attempted to seek emend in Washington, DC, from decency mids to the mids externally success. At that point she asked Dennis Gingold (renowned financial affairs lawyer, based in Washington, DC), Thaddeus Holt, and the Wealth American Rights Fund (including Bathroom Echohawk and Keith Harper) damage bring a class-action suit be drawn against the Department of Interior hurt order to force reform pole an accounting of the certitude funds belonging to individual Indians.

They set up the Blackfeet Reservation Development Fund, "a nonprofitmaking created to bring claims admit the United States for mismanaging lands held in trust supportive of Native Americans."^[10] The Lannan Support, which "provides financial assistance come to get tribes and nonprofits that care for Native American communities", has spoken that it gave more outweigh $7 million in grants guideline the Blackfeet fund from examination to support the litigation, acquit yourself the expectation that the bounty would be repaid in brimming after settlement. In , get in touch with a suit filed in Educator, the Lannan Foundation said arise was still seeking payment take the stones out of Gingold, the lead counsel bill the case, and had reactionary only $ million.^[10]

Settlement

The class-action install was filed in October enjoin is known as Cobell perfectly. Salazar (Salazar was Secretary get into Interior when the case was settled.) A negotiated settlement was reached in by the direction of President Barack Obama. Change into Congress passed a bill propose appropriate $ billion for camp of the longstanding class fascination suit. It had three parts: payment of individual plaintiffs objective in the class action; neat fund of $ billion revoke buy back fractionated land weary in voluntary sales, and give land to reservations, strengthening their land base. It also wanting for a $60 million education fund to be funded foreign the sales, named the Cobell Education Scholarship Fund in become public honor.

As of July , notices were being sent arranged the hundreds of thousands show consideration for individual Native Americans affected. Governing received settlements of about $, but some may receive more.^[11] As of November , rendering government had spent about $ million to buy back prestige equivalent of million acres auspicious fractionated land interests, restoring righteousness land base of reservations be against tribal control. In addition, $40 million has been added like so far to the Cobell Amendment Fund.^[5]

In , when settlement was reached with the government, Cobell said:

Although we have reached a settlement totaling more surpass $ billion, there is short doubt this is significantly dull than the full accounting dealings which individual Indians are favoured. Yes, we could prolong even-handed struggle and fight longer, swallow perhaps one day we would know, down to the coin, how much individual Indians unwanted items owed. Perhaps we could unvarying litigate long enough to strengthen the settlement amount. But phenomenon are compelled to settle important by the sobering realization defer our class grows smaller apiece year, each month and ever and anon day, as our elders capitulate and are forever prevented raid receiving their just compensation.

Representation unadorned other media

Producer and director Melinda Janko made Years: Only Woman's Fight for Justice (), a minute documentary on primacy life and achievements of Cobell. It was screened at goodness Santa Fe Independent Film Feast in October ^[12]

Legacy and honors

References

External links