Wampum

Indianz.com has the full report, and I'll only pull out some of the juicier tidbits for now (not wanting to steal their thunder and all):

Court: Navajo Nation owed money for bungled lease
Friday, September 14, 2007
Filed Under: Law | Trust

The Interior Department breached its trust to the Navajo Nation and must pay damages for mishandling a coal mining lease, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.

In a unanimous decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said the "undisputed facts" prove Interior breached its fiduciary duties to the largest tribe in the country. Swayed by a lobbyist, the Reagan administration approved a coal mining lease for a less than a "reasonable" royalty rate, the three-judge panel concluded.

...

"Accordingly, this court holds that the nation has a cognizable money-mandating claim against the United States for the alleged breaches of trust and that the government breached its trust duties," Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa, a Reagan nominee, wrote in the 39-page ruling.

Barring further appeals, the Court of Federal Claims will now determine the damages the government must pay for mishandling the lease. The tribe claims it lost out on at least $600 million in royalties for one of the most valuable coal deposits in the U.S.

The case is very complicated, and has already gone through a litany of decisions, some of which were very unfavorable to the Navajo; thus it will most likely be appealed to the SCOTUS. However, any victory for Indians in US courts is good, and this is a big one.

More from Indianz.com:

The Federal Circuit also said the government violated its "common law trust duties of care, candor, and loyalty" by approving a lease with a royalty rate that was more favorable to Peabody Coal than to the Navajo Nation. Peabody is the world's largest coal company and has been mining the reservation for decades.

When the Bureau of Indian Affairs recommended the tribe receive a 20 percent royalty rate on its coal, Peabody hired a lobbyist who was a "a former aide and friend" to then-Interior Secretary Don Hodel, the court said. After a meeting that was kept secret from the tribe, Hodel told the BIA to stand down from the higher rate and to urge the tribe to negotiate with Peabody.

"Facing severe economic pressure," the court said, the tribe was forced to agree to a lease with a 12.5 percent royalty rate. The difference cost the tribe at least $600 million in royalties, according to the lawsuit.

Although the actions at issue took place more than 20 years ago, they remain fresh in the minds of many Navajo leaders, who feel betrayed by their trustee. Their feelings worsened when Hodel's previously unknown dealings with the lobbyist came to light through the course of the lawsuit.

It's important to note, as I have time and time again, that many of the characters who ran the Reagan Interior Department, including specific departments which cover royalties and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, returned to Washington to work for the currently Bush Administration. Among them, Gale Norton, Tom Sansonetti, and J. Steven Griles, who, according to Indianz.com, was directly involved in the royalty fiasco (guess Abramoff wasn't the first lobbyist who had undue influence over Griles.) The former three have now left the Administration, but there are others who were involved who still hold positions of immense power at Interior, including direct oversight of the Trust responsibility.

The second official was Ross Swimmer, who currently serves as Special Trustee for American Indians and is responsible for ensuring the government meets its trust obligations. He approved the lease with the lower royalty rate without studying the effect it would have on the tribe.

Swimmer was also deposed for the case but failed to recall doing so when asked about it during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and during a federal court trial for the Cobell trust fund case. He also told Native reporter Jodi Rave that he couldn't remember whether he was deposed.

This ruling comes less than a month before the grandmother of all Indian Trust cases, Cobell v. Kempthorne, goes back to trial. It is not the precedent the Bush Administration wanted, of that, I'm quite sure.