Dear Andre; As you have probably heard, we lost a very important relative.
Elouise Cobell, Little Bird Woman, was a member of the Blackfeet Indian Tribe of Montana and a great-granddaughter of Mountain Chief, one of the legendary Blackfeet leaders of the West. Elouise Cobell was a graduate of Great Falls Business College and attended Montana State University.
As Treasurer of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana, she established the Blackfeet National Bank, the first national bank to be located on an Indian reservation and to be owned by a Native American tribe. She served on the Board of the Native American Bank and First Interstate Bank.
She was a warrior for the Cobell v. Salazar case. This was a class-actionlawsuit led by Elouise Cobell
and others against two departments of the United States government, and in 2010 the current administration offered a settlement of $3.4 billion of the longstanding class action suit.
Our President Mary Jane Oatman-Wak Wak said this of our NIEA 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient:"Our nation has lost an incredible leader with the passing of Eloise Cobell. She stood for accountability, doing what is just and fair, and honoring the trust responsibility of the federal government to American Indians. She was also a longtime supporter of education for American Indians and the chance at a better life that a quality education would bring. We will miss her and we honor all the good that she accomplished during her life. "
As we look to our leaders for strength, please remember to take a few moments for our sister Elouise. She was victorious in her battle, because she chose to fight and stand up for her rights.
Respectfully, National Indian Education Association
