Elouise Cobell has been inducted into the Native American Hall Of Fame.
Cobell is best known for being the lead plaintiff in the groundbreaking class-action lawsuit Cobell v. Salazar. It challenged how the United States mismanaged trust funds that belonged to more than 500,000 Native Americans. The U.S. Government awarded a $3.4 billion dollar settlement in the case, the largest settlement in American history.
Cobell was inducted under the category of “Advocacy,” and the site says of her achievements: “A respected tribal elder, Cobell was the lead plaintiff in the groundbreaking class-action suit Cobell v. Salazar that challenged the United States’ mismanagement of trust funds belonging to more than 500,000 individual Native Americans. She was instrumental in the U.S. government awarding $3.4 billion settlement for the trust case, the largest settlement in history.”
Former President Barack Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Cobell in 2016, four years after her passing in 2011.
James Parker Shield of the Little Shell/Chippewa Tribe in Great Falls is the Hall Of Fame’s founder and CEO.
Other inductees include Lori Piestewa, who was the first Native American woman in history to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military; and Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected to serve as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
You can see the complete list of inductees by visiting the Hall Of Fame website.
On Tuesday, October 16, the CMR Museum will host a public screening of “100 Years: One Woman’s Fight for Justice.”
Afternoon Screening: 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Evening Screening & Discussion: 6:00–8:00 p.m.
6:00 PM: Introduction and remarks on the fall exhibition, Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley from Emily Wilson, C.M. Russell Museum Curator
6:15 PM: 100 Years: One Woman’s Fight for Justice
7:30 PM: Conservation on the Blackfeet Reservation: Dylan DesRosier, Land Protection Specialist, The Nature Conservancy in Montana.
8:00 p.m. – Discussion closes and visitors are invited to view the exhibition Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley
Story by David Sherman, MTN News
