Mike Moline and John Herrera spoke on November 13, 2014 at the Native Asset Building Summit on the topic “Protecting our Assets: Best Practices for Administering the Cobell Settlement – Top 10 Lessons Learned.”
Session description: After more than 20 years of litigation, the historic Cobell class action lawsuit finally reached settlement in 2009. In the five years since settlement, funds have finally begun to be distributed and Tribes have begun to administer the funds allocated by the settlement and buy fractionalized lands. This presentation will draw on the experience of the first tribes to receive settlement funds to demonstrate best practices for Tribes that are beginning to administrate their settlement funds, specifically for Land Buy Back. The program is designed to give enough information to be useful to administrators who are already familiar with Cobell Class Administration and are looking for finer detail than is available through traditional resources. Participants will walk away with a “Top Ten” list of lessons learned that leaders can implement as they move forward with their Tribe’s Class administration.
