The suit, filed on the eve of a congressional hearing on the Federal Bureau
of Indian Affairs, asks a federal court in Washington to order a full
accounting of the funds.
The class action suit was filed on behalf of 300,000 trust funds managed by
the BIA. Each fund represents an individual Indian's share of money
collected by the government, typically from the sale of land or the payment
of royalties from minerals and other natural resources.
At a press conference to announce the filing of the suit, John Echohawk,
executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, charged that the BIA
had also "diverted" funds for unaccounted uses.
The Interior Department, of which the BIA is a part, did not immediately
respond to the suit.
"The accounts could be worth as much as $450 million, but no complete
accounting ever has been made"
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is scheduled to hear testimony today
from tribal leaders about the lawsuit and the BIA management of their accounts.