TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner on Wednesday, Jan. 15, announced that the tribe has reached an $80 million settlement with the U.S. federal government and proposed using the proceeds to build new judicial facilities.
The settlement resolves a 2016 lawsuit alleging that the United States mismanaged the tribe’s trust resources during the period of the 20th century when federal policy suppressed Cherokee Nation’s ability to self-govern.
“Today, on behalf of the Cherokee people and our ancestors, we celebrate long sought justice for the mismanagement of our resources by the United States in the 20th century,” said Chief Hoskin. “Deputy Chief Warner and I propose that we invest these settlement funds in our judicial system so that our government is best equipped to protect our rights and people, fight for victims, and promote public safety on our reservation.”
“Though our superb legal team was prepared to fully litigate the case and win, I thank the Biden-Harris administration for working with us in good faith to resolve this historic wrong,” said Chief Hoskin.
Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner have sent legislation to the Council of the Cherokee Nation to invest settlement funds in the construction of a justice center in Tahlequah that would house the tribe’s Supreme Court, district court, and attorney general’s office, as well as a future district courthouse elsewhere within the tribe’s 7,000 square-mile reservation.
The remaining settlement funds would be set aside to construct a district courthouse at a location to be determined in the future.
“Generations of injustice have given way to a new day of justice,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner. “It is fitting that we use these settlement funds to strengthen our own justice system at a time when we need more strength than ever.”
“For too long the United States undermined our tribal sovereignty and failed to manage and account for our natural resources,” said Council Speaker Mike Shambaugh. “This settlement and the proposed investment represent justice and a way to move forward.”
Cherokee Nation filed the trust case under Principal Chief Bill John Baker and attorney general Todd Hembree with the support of the Council in 2016. The case continued under Chief Baker’s successor, Chief Hoskin, and Attorneys General Sara Hill and Chad Harsha.
Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner’s proposed use of the funds will be considered by the Council at its January 30 Rules Committee meeting.
The Cherokee Nation is set to receive the $80 million settlement from the United States – which is the largest single one-time settlement in the tribe’s history.
The Cherokee Nation maintains the government failed to provide a proper accounting of the Cherokee Trust Fund, which included land sale proceeds, coal leases, oil and gas development, property owned by the tribe, and many of its other assets.
Similar breach of trust cases have been settled between Native American tribes and the federal government in recent years.
The tribe received $100 million total in various settlement funds in recent years from Opioid Retailers and Manufacturers, but the Trust settlement remains the largest single settlement in the tribe’s history.