Free Hawai`i

AKAKA BILL = DISASTER FOR HAWAI`I

YOUR FUTURE WITH THE AKAKA BILL

Cobell Case Settled - At Pennies to the Dollar

Here's what's in store for Hawai`i if the Akaka bill becomes law.

The Obama administration has agreed to spend $3.4 billion to settle litigation filed on behalf of hundreds of thousands of American Indians who claimed the government cheated them out of billions of dollars in oil, gas, mining and timber royalties over more than a century.

The settlement is far short of the $47 billion that the plaintiffs estimated they were owed as a result of the government's mismanagement.

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation who filed suit 13 years ago to force the government to pay up, said the settlement isn't fair, but it was time to compromise.

"We suffered too long in the government's hands and now it's time for change," Cobell said. "So weighing all those issues together, we agreed this is probably one of the best deals that we could get at this time."