by Diana Marrero
Desert Sun Washington Bureau
Palm Springs, Calif., Desert Sun
A government lawyer said Tuesday the Interior Department inadequately tracks income generated from lands it manages on behalf of American Indians, contradicting the agency’s claim of proper oversight.
Robert McCarthy, an attorney at the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Palm Springs, testified Tuesday about accounting deficiencies in his office during a hearing in U.S. District Court. The hearing was part of a longstanding, class-action lawsuit filed by Indian landholders against the government.
“Essentially, funds collection was on the honor system,” he said.
The agency is trying to fire McCarthy for disclosing its problems to a Desert Sun reporter earlier this year.
McCarthy said he repeatedly warned officials about gross mismanagement, waste and abuse in his office.
A recent review by government auditors confirmed many of his allegations.
The 11-year-old lawsuit alleges the Interior Department has failed to account for billions owed to Indian landowners across the country.
The government has offered to settle the suit for $7 billion – a proposal rejected by the plaintiffs. They say the government could owe Indians more than $100 billion for payments and interest on oil, gas and other leases.
Jim Cason, associate deputy Interior secretary, said in an interview Tuesday that systemic problems do not persist throughout the agency.
The agency has spent about $200 million on an accounting of the trust lands, he said.
“We’re taking this charge seriously,” he said, noting accountants have so far examined $1.1 billion handled by the agency. “We found a few errors. Those few errors tended to be small. They tend to be on both sides of the ledger.”
The agency manages more than $300 million a year in royalties and leases for 300,000 Indians nationally.
The Palm Springs office manages about $30 million in leases a year for members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
McCarthy was one of several witnesses who testified for the plaintiffs during Tuesday’s hearing.
Others included Paul Homan, who was the first special trustee for American Indians at the Interior Department, and Mona Infield, a computer analyst for the agency.
Both said many documents needed to do an accurate accounting no longer exist.
McCarthy’s testimony shows that problems that existed for decades persist, said Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the suit.
“Nothing has changed,” said Cobell, a Blackfeet Indian from Montana. “Nothing has been fixed.”
Keith Harper, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said McCarthy’s case exemplifies how the agency retaliates against those who don’t “follow their spin.”
Infield testified in court Tuesday that she was once suspended with pay for three years because she testified at an earlier trial in the suit.
“It takes a lot of courage to stand up and tell the truth in this system,” Harper said.
|
