Norton Hit on Indian Trust Funds
Motion Alleges Workers Lack Assurances on Whistle-Blowing
The Washington Post
By: Ellen Nakashima and Bill Miller
Washington Post Staff Writers
April 11, 2001
Native Americans have asked a federal judge to hold Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton in contempt of court, charging that she has failed to ensure that government employees who know about problems with Indian trust funds can speak freely without fear of reprisal.
The motion was filed Monday in U.S. District Court before Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who two years ago held Norton’s predecessor, Bruce Babbitt, and then-Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin in contempt for “flagrant disregard” of his orders to provide documents related to the trust funds — part of a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Indiansin 1996.
Norton has inherited a trust program left in disarray by her predecessors, but that does not absolve her of the obligation to take steps to correct the problem, said lawyers for the plaintiffs led by Elouise P. Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet tribe of Montana. The trust accounts, which cover at least 300,000 Indians, were set up to compensate Native Americans for use of their land. Lawyers for the Indians contend that the government owes up to $10 billion for decades of lapses, and now Norton, like Babbitt, is finding herself under the scrutiny of a court.
“Norton stated that she was going to take care of this,” said Dennis M. Gingold, a lawyer for the Indians. “But she says one thing and does the other.”
The plaintiffs’ attorneys are also asking the judge to hold in contempt Norton’s counsel, who arecareer lawyers with the Justice Department. Specifically, they are asking Lamberth to rule that Norton disobeyed a Feb. 8 order from the court-appointed special master, Alan L. Balaran, to issue a memorandum informing all employees that they may communicate directly with Balaran in complete confidence and without fear of reprisal.
In their contempt motion, the lawyers contend that there is “strong evidence” that Norton and her lawyers have fostered “an atmosphere of intimidation in the various Department of Interior field offices.” They allege that the memorandum demanded by Balaran has not been circulated throughout the Interior Department and that employees remain afraid to speak out because they fear they will be fired or transferred.
But Interior Department officials yesterday produced copies of memoranda they say prove that they complied with Balaran’s order: a Feb. 16 memo from the Office of the Special Trustee, which oversees trust fund management, directing staff to distribute Balaran’s order; a Feb. 22 e-mail from Deputy Commissioner Sharon Blackwell to regional directors in the Bureau of Indian Affairs directing the circulation of Balaran’s order, which was attached, to all employees.
In February, Balaran randomly contacted 15 of 88 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) field agencies and found that nine had received the order, and six had not.
“We have made every effort to try to distribute this directive,” Interior Department spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna said.
But the Indians’ lawyers are not satisfied, saying that the government has failed to provide a “sworn statement” to the court that all employees in the field offices received the order.
Hanna said that the agency is reviewing ways to more easily distribute information to employees across the country who work on issues related to the Indian trust funds. One option might be putting information on the Interior Department Web site, she said.
She shrugged off allegations of intimidation in the field offices. “The Interior Department does not feel that anyone has been retaliated against because of the Cobell case,” she said. “The Cobell plaintiffs have consistently tried to strike at the highest possible level in their accusations, whether that person has any bearing on the [situation] or not. The nature of litigation is that you make the most extreme comments you can and see what happens.”
In a related development, Justice Department lawyers Monday sent Balaran a letter that acknowledged for the first time that Indian trust records kept by the BIA, some more than 100 years old, are in “imminent” danger.
“Many of these documents are deteriorating due to age and use and should not be at the local agency office in the first place,” wrote Justice Department lawyer Sarah D. Himmelhoch.
Gingold said the Justice Department had previously assured the court that steps were being taken to protect trust fund documents. “What this letter demonstrates is that the malfeasance is continuing,” Gingold said.
Hanna noted that the BIA is still without a director, but that Norton is working to fulfill her pledge to “straighten out” the trust funds. “This administration is very committed to continuing the efforts for Indian trust reform,” she said.
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