The feds paid out a series of smaller settlements to the tribes over the years, but decided to wrap up the rest of the money in a single $157 million payout. They argued the government didn’t negotiate a fair price for oil and gas leases and didn’t follow-up to make sure companies were actually paying the proper amount in royalties. In 1977, the two tribes sued the feds over mismanagement of their mineral rights.
Treasury and was part of a big settlement between the federal government and the two tribes that share the nearby Wind River Reservation: the Northern Arapaho and the Eastern Shoshone. It didn’t seem to be a robbery the men were in fact police officers called to escort an armored truck delivering millions of dollars in cash to banks around this small central Wyoming town. As we sipped our chai lattes from the coffee shop across the street, we watched as the armed men escorted a guy pushing a laundry cart towards the back entrance of the bank. The sight was so unusual we stopped our meeting to stare: men in helmets and riot gear, carrying semi-automatic weapons, were surrounding a bank in Lander, Wyoming, on a Wednesday in late April. Like Tweet Email Print Subscribe Donate Now
