Washington

'Massacre' comment by Indians riles McCain

WASHINGTON - Arizona Sen. John McCain on Tuesday chided the American Indian plaintiffs in a 9-year-old lawsuit against the Interior Department for comparing his proposal to settle the case to a "massacre." The Indians in the lawsuit accuse the Interior Department of cheating them out of more than $100 billion by mismanaging oil, gas, grazing, timber and other royalties from their lands dating back to 1887. In an effort to resolve the lawsuit, McCain filed a bill last Wednesday with Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., which would create a settlement fund and overhaul the Indian trust asset management system. A hearing on the bill Tuesday was the beginning of what likely will be a series of meetings and negotiations on several of the terms - particularly the settlement amount - which has not been determined. The Indians criticized McCain's bill the day after it was filed, saying it was far from what they had hoped it would be. Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff and a Blackfeet Indian, was quoted in the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal as saying the bill reminded her "of the Baker Massacre at Blackfeet when they gave Heavy Runner this piece of paper. They said, 'Hold it up. It will keep you safe.' " The 1870 attack has been described as one of the greatest slaughters of Indians ever by U.S. troops. McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, sternly told Cobell and others that although they have won victories in the U.S. District Court, the Court of Appeals has not been as friendly. It's in the interest of both sides to negotiate a legislative solution, he said. "This bill embodies a series of proposals," he said. "It reflects extensive listening to the parties in the litigation. It cannot credibly be compared to a massacre even in a figure of speech." Cobell later apologized. "That is the only way I could express myself," she said.