Welcome to the Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Website

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM CLASS COUNSEL:

On December 12, 2012, the Court approved the commencement of payments to Historical Accounting Class Members. Distribution of checks began the week of December 17, 2012 to all living Class Members. Please note that payments to certain groups of Class Members (minors, persons with whereabouts unknown, individuals under legal disability, and adults in need of assistance) have been deposited directly into Class Members’ IIM accounts. Funds were wired for these deposits into IIM accounts on December 21, 2012.

Payments to Class Members that are known to be deceased will not be mailed with the initial phase of distribution. The Court has ordered that estate payments be delivered to the personal representative, administrator or executor of the estate, or to the heirs of the deceased beneficiary pursuant to a final probate order. If you have any information regarding the estate of a Class Member that is deceased please provide it to the Claims Administrator by calling 1-800-961-6109.

In addition, based on Interior’s records, almost 40,000 Historical Accounting Class Members are shown as “whereabouts unknown.” The awards for these Class Members have been deposited in their IIM accounts and they only need to update their contact information to be able to claim their award. Another 10,000 Class Members have no contact information in the records furnished by Interior. If you are a member of the Historical Accounting Class and are not currently receiving statements on your IIM account from the government, then you need to provide contact information to the Claims Administrator by calling 1-800-961-6109 or entering the information on this site by accessing the File a Claim/Register to Participate tab to the left.

Finally, the Court has entered a final deadline for submission of claims for the Trust Administration Class. Any claim forms must be postmarked by March 1, 2013. If you need to fill out a claim form you can access it to the left at the File a Claim/Register to Participate tab. If you have already filled out a claim form and/or need to update your contact information you can do so by accessing the Update Your Contact Information tab also to the left. Again, any claim forms must be postmarked by March 1, 2013.

Documents related to the appeals can be viewed under the Court Documents tab on this website, along with copies of the Order Granting Final Approval to Settlement, the Final Judgment, the Fairness Hearing Transcript, and other Court Documents.

This website contains important information about the $3.4 billion Indian Trust Settlement.

You may be a part of this Settlement with certain rights in this Settlement if you are an:

  • Individual Indian Money (“IIM”) account holder (even if the account is currently not active or open),
  • Individual Indian who has or had an ownership interest in land held in trust or in restricted status,
  • Heir to a deceased IIM account holder or individual landowner.

To be eligible for any payments under the Settlement, you must be a member of one or both Classes.

Please note that if you are currently receiving IIM account statements you do not need to file a claim form. The claim filing deadline is Friday, March 1, 2013 and applies only to those who do not meet any of the above criteria for Class Membership. If you believe you are a Class Member but are unsure of whether we have your current contact information, please contact us at the toll-free help line (800-961-6109) or via email at IIMInfo@IndianTrust.com. Please note, we are still accepting additional information from Class Members so that we may appropriately make connections to Class Member records.

Please be sure to review the Detailed Notice to fully understand your rights.

Please Be Aware

Some people are offering to make loans or do other business with Class Members (IIM Trust Beneficiaries) who will receive payments from the settlement when it is final.

The Plaintiffs in Cobell v. Salazar have NOT authorized or endorsed any such activity. Please be careful about releasing your bank account numbers or other confidential information to others. If you have any questions, please call the Toll-Free number on this website.


Important Notice:

Please note, if you are a Class Member you do not have to pay any money to the Indian Trust Settlement under any circumstances in order to receive your benefits. If someone asks you for some kind of payment and claims to be from the Indian Trust Settlement please do not send any money. If you have any questions, please call the Toll-Free number on this website. Thank you.


Settlement Video: This video contains important information about the Indian Trust Settlement. In the video, Elouise Cobell describes the Settlement and answers frequently asked questions about how to participate, your legal rights, and how to get money if you qualify.

This website will be updated as more information becomes available. Please check back periodically for important updates regarding the Settlement.