Obama signs law for Indian tribes, Black farmers
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-12-08-Obama-farmers_N.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Obama signed landmark legislation Wednesday that will pay American Indians and black farmers $4.6 billion to deal with claims of government mistreatment over many decades.
Obama promised during his campaign to work toward resolving disputes over the government's past discrimination against minorities. The measure he signed Wednesday settles a pair of long-standing class-action lawsuits. The measure also settles four long-standing disputes over Native American water rights in Arizona, New Mexico and Montana.
At a signing ceremony at the White House the president declared, "It's finally time to make things right."
Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Montana, the lead plaintiff in the Indian case, called the signing ceremony "breathtaking," adding that she did not expect it to happen in her lifetime. Cobell filed the suit 14 years ago and led efforts to reach the $3.4 billion settlement a year ago and then push it through the House of Representatives and the Senate.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-12-08-Obama-farmers_N.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Obama signed landmark legislation Wednesday that will pay American Indians and black farmers $4.6 billion to deal with claims of government mistreatment over many decades.
Obama promised during his campaign to work toward resolving disputes over the government's past discrimination against minorities. The measure he signed Wednesday settles a pair of long-standing class-action lawsuits. The measure also settles four long-standing disputes over Native American water rights in Arizona, New Mexico and Montana.
At a signing ceremony at the White House the president declared, "It's finally time to make things right."
Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Montana, the lead plaintiff in the Indian case, called the signing ceremony "breathtaking," adding that she did not expect it to happen in her lifetime. Cobell filed the suit 14 years ago and led efforts to reach the $3.4 billion settlement a year ago and then push it through the House of Representatives and the Senate.