‘Special master' may determine Indian payouts

The American Indians suing the government over the way their accounts have been managed asked U.S. District Judge James Robertson to approve $58 billion in "relief” to the trust. According to the plaintiffs, the government benefited improperly by that amount over more than 100 years by not paying out all of the money collected for Indian trust account holders.

But the brief filed last month does not suggest how the money should be distributed. There are about 280,000 American Indians with government-run trust accounts. Most have land-based accounts; they own land and can collect money from leasing it for oil and gas drilling, grazing, mining or other uses.

There are an estimated 53,000 account holders in Oklahoma.

Dennis Gingold, one of the lead attorneys for the Indians in the case, which has been in federal court here for nearly 12 years, said last week, "The allocation issues are determined by the court, not by us.”

Gingold said if Robertson decides the government owes money to trust account holders, he may then appoint an expert, or "special master,” to make recommendations to him about distributing the money.

"Most courts don't want to be caught up in that kind of detail,” Gingold said.

The Interior Department is expected to submit a response this week to the Indians' argument that the government should pay $58 billion in "equitable relief” to the trust account holders.