Today in class we watched a movie called, 100 Years, which over viewed the court case of Cobell vs. Salazar in the federal court system. Elouise Cobell was a Native American activist who went to Montana State University to study accounting. With her degree, she went on to argue in court that Native Americans are not getting fair payment for land resources. During the court case, the government tried to lengthen out the decision so they could just avoid the confrontation. After about 15 years, 3 settlement changes, both sides finally compromised on $3.4 Billion. The reason Cobell settled for such a low amount was that many people in the Native American community were dying without receiving a dollar and she felt that pain. The saddest part of the film was that Cobell died to cancer a year after the court case had been settled.
I am very interested with Elouise Cobell because she was an accounting major, which is what my intended major is currently at Iowa State. She is giving inspiration to many young children that there is an opportunity out there if you work hard. Instead of taking her education and running away with it, she came back to her community and asked what there was a need for. Many people in the world can learn a lesson from Elouise Cobell.