Home > News > Headlines

printer friendly version
Jodi Rave: Sen. Burns ignored Cobell, tribal issues
Tuesday, January 17, 2006

"Now, some of Montana's prominent tribal leaders are using the same language to describe Burns' role in representing their tribes and thousands of individual American Indian landowners.

"The senator is from Montana, but has never taken an interest in it," said Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in a case in which a half-million Indian landowners have sued the Interior Department for mismanaging money owed them for natural resource development.

The lawsuit is nearing 10 years of litigation.

The three-term senator, who sits on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and chairs the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, has refused to talk with Cobell on several occasions, she said.

"I've not seen a request from her," Burns said, adding that he generally avoids discussing ongoing litigation.

Even though he once sat next to her on a flight between Minneapolis and Great Falls, the senator told Cobell he didn't want to talk about her case in which the Interior Department has acknowledged more than a century's worth of account mismanagement, according to Cobell.

Burns spent the rest of the flight working on a crossword puzzle, Cobell said.

"If she'd call me and say, 'I want an appointment,' she'd get it," Burns said Monday.

But when Cobell scheduled an appointment in 2003, he sent a staff person in his place, Cobell said. She had hoped to inform Burns about the significance of appropriations legislation that included several anti-Indian riders related to the lawsuit. She was disappointed when she was forced to meet with an aide to the senator.

"This young person was so ignorant to us, it was so bad," Cobell said. "He told me, 'We ought to be charging you for the handling of this money.' I almost jumped across the table.""

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Tribal leaders question Burns' priorities (The Missoulian 1/17)

Relevant Links:
Sen. Conard Burns - http://burns.senate.gov
Montana Republican Party - http://www.mtgop.org
Montana Democratic Party - http://www.montanademocrats.org

Related Stories:
Sen. Burns losing support among Montana voters (01/12)
Sen. Burns blames media for Abramoff story (1/10)
Editorial: Burns, Baucus and Rehberg were bought (12/22)
Editorial: Burns, Baucus and Rehberg were bought (12/22)
Abramoff still an issue for Montana politicians (12/21)
Editorial: No more nasty politics on Montana? (12/21)
Burns staffer went on Abramoff Super Bowl trip (12/21)
Ex-Abramoff associate pleads guilty in Montana (12/21)
Sen. Baucus returns $19K in Abramoff donations (12/20)
Another Republican returns Abramoff donations (12/19)
Burns to return $150K in Abramoff donations (12/16)
Editorial: Burns should return Abramoff donations (12/15)
Burns already spent donations from Abramoff (12/14)
Former Burns aide talks with Abramoff investigators (12/13)
Editorial: Don't hate Burns, hate the system (12/12)
Burns wishes Abramoff had 'never been born' (12/9)
Opinion: Burns worried about public opinion (12/9)
Sen. Burns to launch Abramoff offensive in January (12/8)
Sen. Burns wants name cleared in Abramoff probe (12/7)
Staffer for Sen. Burns went to work for Abramoff (12/05)
Ex-Abramoff associate charged in Montana for poaching (08/19)
Sen. Burns took $34K from ex-Abramoff client (11/30)
Abramoff probe spreads to members of Congress (11/28)
Abramoff probe looking into Congress, Bush (11/25)
Montana Democrats to run ads against Burns (11/22)
Ex-Abramoff associate charged in Montana for poaching (08/19)
Democrats to make change to Burns, Abramoff ad (08/10)
Democrat ad criticizes Burns for ties to Abramoff (8/9)
Democrats received donations from Abramoff tribes (06/03)
Bloomberg: Abramoff tribes gave $1.4M to Congress (05/19)
Sen. Burns: Support for Montana tribes is known (04/18)
Burns says Michigan delegation backed school funds (04/04)
Editorial: Burns has chance to restore Indian funds (3/31)
Democrats want Burns to return tribal donations (03/29)
Burns denies wrongdoing for helping Abramoff client (03/24)
Chairman: Montana tribes support Senator Burns (3/18)
Editorial: Facts don't look good for Senator Burns (03/14)
Editorial: Burns needs better story on Abramoff flap (3/8)
Firm offers $9M refund to Saginaw Chippewa Tribe (3/7)
Editorial: A 'Super Bowl' earmark for tribe (3/7)
Editorial: Burns 'enriched' by Abramoff and tribes (3/7)
Horse Sense: Burns and Baucus 'cozy' with lobbyists (3/7)
Burns promises cooperation with Abramoff probe (3/4)
Editorial: Who do you work for, Senator Burns? (3/4)
Burns looking into Abramoff ties, Dorgan denies link (3/2)
Burns, Dorgan backed $3M grant for Abramoff client (3/1)
Tribal lobbying scandal hurts ex-Abramoff firm (02/17)
Sag Chip recall targets anti-Abramoff tribal leaders (02/11)
High-priced lobbyist scam linked to lawmakers (11/18)
Documents detail lobbyists' role in tribal elections (10/04)
More hearings slated in tribal lobbyist scandal (09/30)
Senate hearing on tribal lobbying probe set (8/26)
Saginaw Chippewa leader who paid lobbyists ousted (06/04)
Indian Country awaits outcome of lobbying probe (05/18)
Saginaw Chippewa Tribe wonders where $14M went (04/20)
Saginaw Chippewa Tribe hires new lobbying firm (03/09)
GOP lobbyist scores big with tribes (04/03)
Embattled tribe gets new lobbyist (12/13)

Copyright © 2000-2006 Indianz.Com