The Cobell Litigation has reached a proposed settlement which represents a significant breakthrough on an issue that has troubled Indian country for many decades. The settlement covers payments for $1.4 billion dollars for settlement of accounting and mismanagement claims. This fund will be divided into two parts. Each part is clearly stated in the settlement so there are no discrepancies in how the money should be handled. Each account holder would receive $1000 for historical accounting claims and even though this amount is not what is deserved many Indians are shocked it was this much. The higher amount likely represents the value of adding trust mismanagement claims to the accounting claims. The suit consolidates fractionated lands under tribal ownership and will increase economic development opportunities. This suit was originally filed in 1996 over the United States government's trust management and accounting of hundreds of thousands of individual American Indian trust accounts. The Dawes Allotment Act is the legislation that I believe is in connection with this suit because the first trust was set up with the Dawes Act and nothing has been right for the Indians since. Back in those days the Americans made many deals concerning Indians but the deals were not always acknowledged or lived up to. The trusts have never been fairly decided or allocated. This suit finally gives the native Americans their rights and funding from trusts that the government has overseen for years. The Indians have suffered greatly at the white men’s hand and only now does it seem the Indians might finally be getting justice. However, only time will tell if the government lives up to this deal as well. No money can ever repay everything the Indians have been through but this is a start if it is done appropriately and legally.