Candidate Series

Newt Gingrich: His anti-media plan

Using debate moments to propel his presidential election campaign.

Native Americans

The relationship between the United States and Native America has evolved over time from warfare and paternalism to recognition of tribes as sovereign governments.  That has allowed tribal governments to exercise more control over energy and economic development on reservations including the opening of casinos through state compacts.  Issues from the past still linger, though, as tribes fight for what they consider ancestral water rights in local negotiations which may required congressional funding to complete.  While Congress and tribal governments work on health and education issues, perhaps the biggest piece of unfinished business is what has become known as the Cobell settlement.  The case is named for Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet tribe, who sued in 1996 claiming the federal government had mismanaged the trust fund set up for individual tribal members' shares of royalty payments from development of natural resources on tribal lands.  With a negotiated settlement in place, Congress is being asked to appropriate $3.4 billion to fund it.