Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet tribe who founded the first Native-American-owned bank and later was the lead plaintiff in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the federal government, died Sunday at 65 of complications from cancer.
Cobell founded the Blackfeet National Bank in Browning, Mont., in 1987, four years after the community's only bank failed and left tribe members with few banking options. Cobell, who was the tribe's treasurer at the time, first tried to persuade mainstream banks to open an office in Browning, but when her efforts failed she committed $1 million of the tribe's money to charter the first bank ever to open on an Indian reservation. Today, Native American Bank has $77 million of assets and branches in Browning and Denver.
Cobell, however, will be better remembered for leading an epic legal fight against the Department of the Interior for mismanaging billions of dollars held in trust for Native Americans. Cobell did not live to see Native Americans benefit from the $3.4 billion settlement. Several members of the class action have filed appeals seeking more accurate accounting of how much money was lost or mishandled, so it appears the funds will be tied up at least into 2012.
