U.S. Offers Native Americans $1.4 Billion for Their Mistake

In 1996, American Indians filed suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, because they failed to give the Indians their revenue from a fund of Indian assets, which the department managed. Now the lawsuit is trying to come to a close as the U.S. Department is offering the American Indians $1.4 billion, to try and make up for the mismanagement of their trust and lands. If the Indians were to accept this offer, each would get as much as $1,000. According to Cobell, a member of the tribe, the Indians who really needed the money are already old and on their way to death.

The Indians feel horribly mismanaged and have lost huge amounts of faith in the U.S. and our government. This money will not make up for the fact that many of the people involved in this suit lived their entire life in severe poverty. In this article, CNN goes into more detail about the specifics of each side of the American Indian case. Hopefully our government will learn from this and take more action in future cases like this.