1、1 Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (1831).2 United States v. Mitchell, 463 U.S. 206, 225 (1983) (quoting Navajo Tribe of Indians v. UnitedStates, 624 F. 2d 981, 987 (Ct. Cl. 1980).3 See, e.g., United States v. Sioux Nation, 448 U.S. 371 (1980). 4 These accounts trace their beginnings to the fed
2、eral governments allotment program of the late19th and early 20th centuries. Under this program, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior(continued.)Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21738Updated July 12, 2006
3、The Indian Trust Fund Litigation: An Overview of Cobell v. NortonNathan Brooks and M. Maureen MurphyLegislative AttorneysAmerican Law DivisionSummaryThe Cobell v. Norton litigation has been before the courts since 1996. The disputein Cobell involves the federal governments alleged mismanagement of a
4、ccounts heldin trust for individual Indians. Central to this dispute is the Department of the Interiorsduty to provide a historical accounting of the accounts. This duty has proven verydifficult to fulfill, however, for a variety of reasons. The purpose of this report is to givea background of the h