Elouise Cobell and the Indian Trust Funds: Accountability and Trust in Public Administration

Abstract

U.S. government policy and jurisprudence concerning American Indian nations have long been marked by paradoxes and contradictions. The story of Cobell v. Norton, the largest class action suit ever brought against the federal government, illuminates issues that are basic to the administrative state, including accountability, trust, and the nature of sovereignty. For more than a century, administrators neglected their fiduciary responsibility for the management of Indian trust accounts. The legal doctrine of limited sovereignty failed to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens and Indian nations. This discussion recounts a history that should be learned from rather than erased.