- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
The Pembina Class Action Settlement Administrator began distribution of $59 million on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, of negotiated settlement proceeds to four Pembina Tribes (the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana, and the White Earth Band of Minnesota Chippewa Indians), and more than 30,000 individual eligible settlement class members.
This momentous and historic Pembina Settlement is the result of a lawsuit brought in 1992 by the Pembina Tribes on their behalf and on behalf of eligible Pembina individuals to redress alleged mismanagement by the United States government of two Indian Claims Commission (ICC) judgment awards to the Pembinas.
The ICC judgment awards were additional compensation for millions of acres of land that the Pembinas ceded to the United States in the nineteenth century, for which the United States paid pennies per acre. The United States, as trustee, was responsible for managing the ICC judgment awards as trust funds until they were distributed to the Pembina beneficiaries in the 1980s and 1990s.
Additional information for settlement class members is available from the settlement administrator’s automated helpline at (833) 999-9915 or online at www.PembinaSettlement.com.
This lawsuit alleged that the trust funds were mismanaged and again, additional compensation for the Pembina beneficiaries was in order. The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) represented the Pembinas throughout the lawsuit and over a decade of settlement negotiations. “NARF commends the Pembinas for their perseverance and patience in this precedential case,” said NARF Staff Attorney Melody McCoy. “Many are unaware of the tremendous impact the Pembinas have had in holding the United States accountable to Indian tribes and individuals.”
More about the Pembina judgment fund case: https://narf.org/cases/pembina/
More Stories Like This
Chickasaw Children’s Village Celebrates 20 Years of Nurturing First American StudentsOregon Governor Visits Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Water Rights Agreement with Colorado River Indian Tribes in Arizona Signed
Biden Nominates Salish & Kootenai Tribal Attorney Danna Jackson for Federal Bench
A Conversation With Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan: What We Can Celebrate Around the State
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
