ISUEGOV.COM Five Stones Legal Defense Fund
Lake Pepin Reservation Active

Lake Pepin Reservation

Active public project about a lawsuit on the United States' trust obligations to Sioux Half-Breed lineal descendants of the Lake Pepin Reservation.

  • treaty
  • trust

Earlier public path: /lake-pepin

Public slide presentation: The Lake Pepin Reservation Project Overview.
Public video already embedded on the Lake Pepin page: "Half Breed" Tract Highlight.
Project sections

The live page title is “Lake Pepin Reservation Project.” It lists the status as active and the next milestone as phase 2. The page names Minnesota Dakota Oyate and links to mklaw.com.

Summary

The public page says the lawsuit argues that the United States violated trust obligations to Sioux Half-Breed lineal descendants of the Lake Pepin Reservation. It says the reservation was established by the 1830 Treaty of Prairie du Chien and by congressional acts in 1854 and 1858. It says the United States does not currently recognize those lineal descendants as Indians and does not recognize the Lake Pepin reservation or its boundaries.

The page states these legal arguments:

  1. The 1830 treaty and the 1854 and 1858 acts created the reservation and a trust, with the United States taking control of the lands as trustee.
  2. Those later acts did not abrogate, terminate, or repudiate the 1830 treaty or the trust, so the trust and the beneficiaries’ rights remained.
  3. The United States breached that trust by failing to manage the lands and their proceeds, and by retaining sale proceeds instead of holding them for the lineal descendants.
  4. The United States failed to honor continuing Indian title in the reservation lands.

Relief the public page says the suit seeks

The page says the suit seeks monetary damages for breach of trust, recovery of land-sale proceeds the United States kept, with interest, and placement of those funds in trust for the lineal descendants. It also lists a possible resolution that would include damages, changes to land records, and recognition as a federally recognized tribe. None of that is reported as a result. A gift is a donation to Five Stones Legal Defense Fund.

The page cites United States v. Mitchell and Cobell v. Salazar as earlier trust-mismanagement cases. This summary does not restate those decisions.

Milestones and figures listed on the public page

The public page lists these phases and estimated figures for legal work and expenses.

  1. Case preparation, investigation, and legal analysis: $290,000.
  2. Pleadings, jurisdictional motions, and early case strategy: $405,000.
  3. Discovery, including class-certification discovery and document review: $6,350,000.
  4. Expert retention and reports: $1,062,500.
  5. Dispositive motions, including summary judgment: $635,000.
  6. Trial preparation and a four-week bench trial: $1,480,000.
  7. Case management and settlement efforts, described as ongoing: $290,000.
  8. Hard costs and expenses: $3,455,200.

The page says the current milestone is phase 2.

Counsel named on the public page

The page names Gregory M. Erickson, Elizabeth Nielsen, and Erick G. Kaardal.