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Tell Senator Barrasso: Stop Blocking Crucial Legislation for Native American Rights!
  1. Signatures
    234 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. The WY State Senate
  2. Created By
    Consortium for Sustainable Village-Based Development
About this Petition Petition Letter

The deadline for Congress to authorize the Cobell Settlement has been extended to October 15. The most recent attempt to pass the settlement on August 6 was blocked—yet again—by Republicans in the Senate.

One Senator in particular is hell-bent on preventing the settlement’s passage—Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

The chairman of the committee, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), asked the Senate to approve the settlement through a unanimous consent process. But Barrasso objected for the umpteenth time, saying changes needed to be made to the deal.

"My colleague from Wyoming, I think, wishes he were one of the negotiators. Nobody in Congress was a negotiator ... the question is whether we will meet our responsibility,” said Dorgan, according to the Associated Press.

The $3.2 billion settlement ended a 14-year class-action lawsuit brought against the U.S. Department of Interior by some 300,000 Native American land owners, who argued that the government failed to pay them $42 billion in lease revenue collected by the government over the past 120 years. After years of stalling, the government finally conceded and agreed to settle with the plaintiffs in December 2009.

December marked an important milestone for Native Americans across the country, yet the Cobell Settlement is useless without the congressional approval needed to enact the law and authorize implementation. The settlement has passed multiple times in the House, but the Senate continues to delay. The deadline for congressional authorization has been extended numerous times, but this may the last extension.

It’s time to get serious about passing this important legislation, but the abhorrent actions of one lawmaker threaten to dismantle the entire agreement.

Tell Senator Barrasso of Wyoming that his continued actions to block the passage of the Cobell Settlement are inexcusable in the face of more than a century of Native American injustice, and urge him to stop supporting the abuse of American Indians’ rights—it is shameful and intolerable.

After a century of injustice, a 14-year legal battle, and seven months of delays in Congress, how much longer will the plaintiffs have to wait for justice? We must act now to ensure approval of the Cobell Settlement before the October 15 deadline.

Sign the petition to Tell Senator Barrasso: Stop Blocking Crucial Legislation for Native American Rights and Approve of the Cobell Settlement Now!

 

Image Credit: cliff1066 (Flickr)

Recent Signatures

Please Stop Blocking Passage of the Cobell Settlement

Dear Senator Barrasso

For more than 120 years, Native Americans have been the victims of discriminatory land policies enacted by the U.S. government, including the leasing of their lands to non-tribal members by the federal government. Yet Native landowners have received little to no leasing revenues.

The Cobell settlement reached in December marked an important milestone for Native Americans across the country. While the $3.4 billion settlement is far less than what is actually owed, it will at least begin to acknowledge the gross injustices the U.S. government has been inflicting upon Native Americans for over a century.

Mr. Barrasso, why have you insisted on blocking this crucial legislation at every opportunity?

Attempts to justify such actions based on personal opinion are irrelevant. It is not the job of Congress to negotiate the terms of the settlement—that has already been decided by the plaintiffs in a 14-year-long battle. Your job as a leader and representative of the people is to ensure the law is upheld, and the plaintiffs are awarded what is legally due to them as agreed upon in the settlement. I hope you will fulfill this important duty.

Congress has until October 15 to approve the Cobell Settlement. After a century of injustice, a 14-year legal battle, and months of delays in Congress, how much longer will the plaintiffs have to wait for justice? The Senate has let several deadlines pass without acting—this cannot wait any longer.

Senator Barrasso, please approve the Cobell Settlement before October 15 with no more amendments, excuses or delays!

Thank you for your support in helping our country live up to its creed to provide liberty and justice for all Americans.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

[Your name]

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