Fifteenth Ask Elouise Letter

Ask Elouise
November 22, 2010

Dear Indian Country

This is the fifteenth letter in a series of open letters that I’m
sending to Indian Country. The purpose of this letter is to update you
about the settlement.

Since my last Ask Elouise letter (September 30, 2010), I and our
representatives have been frequently meeting with both Republican and
Democratic Members of Congress and their staffs. We have been
advocating on behalf of our settlement legislation and its importance
to over 500,000 individual Indians. The Senate has been a particularly
difficult hurdle, having stripped us off of numerous pieces of
legislation on multiple occasions for unrelated political reasons.

However, after almost 12 months of working with the Senate, it is with
great pleasure that I can share good news with you – on Friday,
November 19, the Senate unanimously passed legislation authorizing our
settlement. The settlement was revised by the Senate to increase the
distribution fund by $100 million and ensure that the neediest members
of the class are treated fairly. One hundred Senators voiced their
support and voted to pass legislation that will approve this landmark
settlement. It is not possible to overstate this unprecedented vote of
approval in the Senate. In an era of political gridlock and acrimony,
and less than a month following one of the most contentious and
difficult elections in recent memory, our settlement enjoys the
unanimous support of the Senate. I’d like to extend my personal
appreciation to each member of the United States Senate and their
staffs, but especially to Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Senate
Indian Affairs Chairman Bryon Dorgan of North Dakota, Senate Indian
Affairs Vice Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming, Sen. Max Baucus of
Montana, Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana,
and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

But, our work is not done.

Our settlement legislation must be passed by the House to be enacted.
This is no sure thing for reasons that I mentioned above. We must be
vigorous and redouble our efforts in the closing days of this
Congress. If legislation is not passed by the close of this Congress,
the Senate approval will be nullified and the settlement agreement
will terminate. There is no hope of passage in the next Congress that
begins in January. We need everyone to call or write his or her
representatives before Congress returns from Thanksgiving recess on
November 29 and urge them to pass the Cobell legislation before the
end of this Congress. You may find contact information for your
representative by clicking here:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Be sure to state in your email:

Please support and vote yes for the Cobell settlement legislation
contained in HR 4783 (as passed by the Senate), the Claims Resolution
Act of 2010.

Thank you, in advance. Every communication with your representative is
important and let Congress know Indian Country will be heard!

Prior Ask Elouise letters can be found on the settlement website:
http://cobellsettlement.com/class/ask_elouise.php. We also have a
“frequently asked questions” section while includes the most common
questions we’ve received as well as questions and answers from prior
Ask Elouise letters: http://cobellsettlement.com/press/faq.php. With
so many members of the class, I can’t answer every question that you
send.

The most common question I receive every week relates to whether a
particular person is included in this settlement. Unfortunately, I do
not have that information. The settlement agreement provides general
guidelines (see also http://cobellsettlement.com/press/faq.php), but I
also understand that many of you have unique or unusual circumstances,
which make it unclear to me whether you are included in the settlement
class. For those of you who still have questions, I recommend that you
register to receive all Court-ordered communications to ensure you do
not miss important information. There is no need to register if you
are receiving a quarterly IIM statement. The Court ultimately will
determine who is included in this settlement. Registration information
can be found at the end of this and every Ask Elouise letter.

If you are not currently receiving an IIM statement from the
government, please remember to register for correspondence over the
Internet or by calling the number below.
 
Internet: https://cert.tgcginc.com/iim/register.php
Telephone: 1-800-961-6109

If you have a question, send an e-mail to:
askelouise@cobellsettlement.com. Otherwise you can send me a letter to
the address below. To expedite the processing of your letters our
contractor has set up a post office box in Ohio, but I assure you this
letter is coming from me and I will see your letters.
 
Ask Elouise
Cobell Settlement
PO Box 9577
>>> Dublin, OH 43017-4877

Thank you and keep your questions coming!

Best wishes

Elouise Cobell
Browning, Montana