The Navajo Council continues to debate LEGISLATION 0179-14, which is amending the $554 million settlement by accepting the current Trust Fund Account balances as stated in the periodic statements of performance, which is about $2 million.

DELEGATE KATHERINE BENALLY
wat was to be invested was about $40 million but it didn’t get invested or something. this not about record keeping. it’s about the federal government’s failure to properly manage, invest and account for our funds that were generated by tribal oil and gas.

But after the Washington, D.C., attorneys explained via Skype that any amendments to the Settlement Agreement would mean that the tribe was reneging on the settlement, which would put the Settlement back into negotiations, the Council voted 20 in favor, 0 opposed on 0179-14.

The DC attorneys, who helped the tribe negotiate the settlement of the tribe’s lawsuit against federal government for gross mismanagement of tribal trust funds, informed the Council that once the Council approved the Periodic accounting then they give that back to the US Justice Department, which they would sign, and then hand to federal treasury which would authorize the payment of the $554 million in settlement funds.

They added that the federal Justice Department assured them that if they received the tribal documents by the end of July then the payment time clock would start ticking. And so it would take between 90 days to 120 days for the tribe to get paid.

The attorneys also noted that the last time that they visited with the Council, the expedited payment schedule was part of settlement and it’s taken other tribes years to receive similar settlements