Courtesy of Lake County, Illinois, Discovery Museum, Curt Teich Postcard Archives and Regional History Archives
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
Arizona tribes have the right to sue the federal government for allowing a major developer to default on payments it was supposed to make to obtain the old Phoenix Indian School, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The three-judge panel said the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona presented enough information to show there is evidence that the federal government failed to maintain sufficient financial security to deal with what would happen if the Barron Collier Co. defaulted on its payments. That was important because the state’s senators, in getting Congress to approve the deal, insisted that the funds be used for education of Native-American students.
As it turned out, the company did default, leaving the trust fund that was set up about $20 million short, according to attorney Melody McCoy who represents the council.
A trial judge in Washington tossed out the tribes’ claims. But the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded there was enough of a basis to support a claim that the federal government failed in its duty to protect the trust.
