Hoopa Tribe appeals decision

April 20, 2007

Eureka Reporter

The United States Department of Interior handed over $90 million of trust fund monies to the Yurok Tribe Friday.

According to a news release from the Hoopa Valley Tribe, the monies “originally came from Hoopa timber sales.”

“This is reminiscent of faithless federal actions in the 19th century when Indian agents would give the property of one tribe to another and hide from their responsibilities,” said Hoopa Tribal Chairperson Clifford Lyle Marshall.

Via the news release, Marshall indicated the Hoopa Valley Tribe is “considering its legal options, including forcing the U.S. Treasury to pay damages for the loss of tribal trust monies.”

According to a Yurok Tribe news release, Maria Tripp, chairperson of the Yurok Tribe, said Friday’s action by the DOI “is a day that we have fought long and hard for and is simply monumental.”

“This represents a significant step forward in the modern journey of the Yurok people,” Tripp said. “However, this is just the beginning; under our constitution, we cannot spend a cent until the people have voted on a plan for the fund.”