The long running lawsuit for Native people who were denied billions of dollars in trust fund money after decades of federal mismanagement is the subject of a new film.
100 Years: One Woman’s Fight for Justice is the story of Blackfeet tribal member, the late Eloise Cobell. Cobell took on the Interior department over missing funds in trust accounts that were supposed to be paid to Native landowners for oil and gas, grazing and timber lease payments. Cobell’s 15-year fight spanned three administrations and resulted in the largest federal government settlement in history during the Obama administration. Melinda Janko is the documentarian who produced the film. She said she’d never been to a reservation before she saw a small article on Cobell’s fight.
The free showing will be tomorrow evening at East High School in Anchorage at 6:30 with a panel discussion to follow.
Lori Townsend is the news director and senior host for Alaska Public Media. You can send her news tips and program ideas for Talk of Alaska and Alaska Insight at ltownsend@alaskapublic.org or call 907-550-8452.
