IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
____________________________________
) 
ELOUISE PEPION COBELL, et al., ) 
Plaintiffs, 
v. 
GALE A. NORTON, Secretary of 
the Interior, et al., 
) 
) 
)
)
)
)
) No. 1:96CV01285 
(Judge Lamberth) 
Defendants. 
)
) 
DEFENDANTS’ PROPOSED NOTICES FOR CLASS COMMUNICATIONS 
The Court's September 29, 2004 Order directed the parties to submit proposed language 
to be included as a notice that accompanies any communication between Defendants and class 
members "regarding the sale, exchange, transfer, or conversion of any Indian trust land." 
September 29, 2004 Order at 1. Defendants propose the following language: 
This notice only concerns communications from the Department of the Interior regarding 
any transaction involving or resulting in the sale, exchange, transfer, or conversion of 
your Indian trust land. This notice is being provided in accordance with an Order in the 
class action lawsuit, Cobell v. Norton, No. 1:196CV01285 (D.D.C.). 
Please be aware that many Individual Indian Money ("IIM") account holders are class 
members in the Cobell litigation, which involves Interior's obligation to perform an 
accounting for IIM account holders and may involve other issues that are disputed. If you 
are a class member, you may consult with class counsel in the Cobell litigation before 
proceeding with any transaction involving or resulting in the sale, exchange, transfer, or 
conversion of your Indian trust land. For further information you may contact the lawyers 
for the class members: Dennis M. Gingold, Esq., 607 14th Street, N.W., 9th floor, 
Washington, DC 2005;, phone: (202) 824-1448; fax: (202) 318-2372; email: 
dennismgingold@aol.com; or Keith Harper, Esq., Native American Rights Fund, 1712 N 
Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036-2976; phone: (202) 785-4166; fax: (202) 822-0068; 
email: harper@narf.org. You may also access further information at the plaintiffs' 
website, www.indiantrust.com.
Although you may consult with class counsel in the Cobell litigation, you are not required 
to do so and may choose to waive consultation. However, in accordance with an Order in 
the Cobell litigation, no employee, official, representative, or agent of the Department of 
the Interior may communicate further with you regarding the sale, exchange, transfer, or 
conversion of Indian trust land until you indicate in writing that you have either: (1) 
consulted with class counsel or (2) you have waived consultation. 
Please be aware that any decision that you make regarding the sale, exchange, transfer, or 
conversion of your Indian trust land will NOT eliminate ANY rights that you may have if 
you are a class member in the Cobell litigation. Also, whether you consult with class 
counsel, or choose to waive consultation, you will NOT lose ANY rights that you may 
have as a class member in the Cobell litigation. 
Within ten (10) days of receiving this notice please check the appropriate box below and 
return this form to the Department of the Interior office from which you obtained this 
notice. Please have one of the Cobell lawyers listed above sign the document after you 
have indicated your preference. If you need assistance in providing the form to the Cobell 
lawyers for their signature, a Department of the Interior employee at your local Bureau of 
Indian Affairs office will fax your signed form to one of the Cobell lawyers. 
___ I have consulted with class counsel in the Cobell litigation and wish to proceed with 
any sale, exchange, transfer, or conversion of my Indian trust land. 
___ I hereby waive my opportunity to consult with class counsel in the Cobell litigation 
and wish to proceed with any sale, exchange, transfer, or conversion of my Indian trust 
land. 
______________ 
(Date) 
______________ 
(Date) 
[End of proposed notice.] 
____________________________ 
(your signature) 
____________________________ 
(print name) 
____________________________ 
(Cobell lawyer signature) 
2
The Court's September 29, 2004 Order also directed the parties to submit proposed 
notification language for communications with class members "related to: (1) the contract 
awarded by Interior's Office of Historical Trust Accounting to Quapaw Information Systems, Inc. 
pursuant to the settlement agreement in Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma v. Department of the 
Interior, No. 02-CV-129 H(M) (N.D. Okla.); and (2) the activities of Quapaw Information 
Systems Inc. pursuant to that contract." Order at 4. Defendants propose the following language: 
This notice only concerns communications from the Department of the Interior 
and/or Quapaw Information Systems, Inc. regarding the contract awarded by 
Interior's Office of Historical Trust Accounting to Quapaw Information Systems, 
Inc. pursuant to the settlement agreement in Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma v. 
Department of the Interior, No. 02-CV-129 H(M) (N.D. Okla.) ("Quapaw 
Contract") and the activities of Quapaw Information Systems, Inc. pursuant to the 
Quapaw contract. This notice is being provided in accordance with an Order in the 
class action lawsuit, Cobell v. Norton, No. 1:196CV01285 (D.D.C.). 
Please be aware that many Individual Indian Money ("IIM") account holders are class 
members in the Cobell litigation, which involves Interior's obligation to perform an 
accounting for IIM account holders and may involve other issues that are disputed. If you 
are a class member, you may consult with class counsel in the Cobell litigation before 
proceeding with any communications with the Department of the Interior or Quapaw 
Information Systems, Inc. regarding the Quapaw Contract or the activities of Quapaw 
Information Systems, Inc. pursuant to the Quapaw Contract. For further information you 
may contact the lawyers for the class members: Dennis M. Gingold, Esq., 607 14th 
Street, N.W., 9th floor, Washington, DC 2005;, phone: (202) 824-1448; fax: (202) 318- 
2372; email: dennismgingold@aol.com; or Keith Harper, Esq., Native American Rights 
Fund, 1712 N Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036-2976; phone: (202) 785-4166; fax: 
(202) 822-0068; email: harper@narf.org. You may also access further information at the 
plaintiffs' website, www.indiantrust.com. 
Although you may consult with class counsel in the Cobell litigation, you are not required 
to do so and may choose to waive consultation. However, in accordance with an Order in 
the Cobell litigation, no employee, official, representative, or agent of the Department of 
the Interior, including its contractor Quapaw Information Systems, Inc., may 
communicate with you regarding the Quapaw Contract or the activities of Quapaw 
Information Systems, Inc. pursuant to the Quapaw Contract until you indicate in writing 
that you have either: (1) consulted with class counsel or (2) you have waived 
consultation. 
3
Please be aware that whether you consult with class counsel, or choose to waive 
consultation, you will NOT lose ANY rights that you may have as a class member in the 
Cobell litigation. 
Within ten (10) days of receiving this notice please check the appropriate box below and 
return this form to the Department of the Interior office from which you obtained this 
notice. Please have one of the Cobell lawyers listed above sign the document after you 
have indicated your preference. If you need assistance in providing the form to the Cobell 
lawyers for their signature, a Department of the Interior employee at your local Bureau of 
Indian Affairs office will fax your signed form to one of the Cobell lawyers. 
___ I have consulted with class counsel in the Cobell litigation and wish to proceed with 
communications with the Department of the Interior and/or Quapaw Information 
Systems, Inc. regarding the Quapaw Contract or the activities of Quapaw Information 
Systems, Inc. pursuant to the Quapaw Contract. 
___ I hereby waive my opportunity to consult with class counsel in the Cobell litigation 
and wish to proceed with communications with the Department of the Interior and/or 
Quapaw Information Systems, Inc. regarding the Quapaw Contract or the activities of 
Quapaw Information Systems, Inc. pursuant to the Quapaw Contract. 
_____________ 
(Date) 
______________ 
(Date) 
[End of proposed notice.] 
In the Court's September 29, 2004 Order, the Court suggested that the class 
communication notices might also include information related to the nature of the claims at issue 
in this litigation, and descriptions of the relief granted, and sought, in this litigation. See Order at 
2. The language Defendants propose does not include information on these topics, other than 
____________________________ 
(your signature) 
____________________________ 
(print name) 
____________________________ 
(Cobell lawyer signature) 
4
generally to refer to the obligation to conduct an accounting. These issues are in dispute on 
appeal of the Phase 1.5 trial structural injunction. Any attempt to address these topics at this 
time might prove to be confusing or misleading, pending resolution of the current appeals. 
"Misleading communications to class members concerning the litigation pose a serious threat to 
the fairness of the litigation process, the adequacy of representation and the administration of 
justice generally." In re School Asbestos Litigation, 842 F.2d 671, 680 (3d Cir. 1981) (vacating 
order under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(d)). 
Therefore, communications on these topics should not be included in the notices 
approved by the Court. The notices inform class members of their right to communicate with 
class counsel, and in any such private communication class counsel can discuss these topics with 
the class members. These communications may still be misleading, but at least they would not 
have the imprimatur of the Court. 
5
CONCLUSION 
For these reasons, the Court should adopt Defendants' proposed language to be included 
in the class communication notifications. 
Respectfully submitted, Dated: October 12, 2004 
ROBERT D. McCALLUM, JR. 
Associate Attorney General 
PETER D. KEISLER 
Assistant Attorney General 
STUART E. SCHIFFER 
Deputy Assistant Attorney General 
J. CHRISTOPHER KOHN 
Director 
/s/ Sandra P. Spooner 
SANDRA P. SPOONER 
D.C. Bar No. 261495 
Deputy Director 
JOHN T. STEMPLEWICZ 
Senior Trial Counsel 
Commercial Litigation Branch 
Civil Division 
P.O. Box 875 
Ben Franklin Station 
Washington, D.C. 20044-0875 
(202) 514-7194 
6
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
I hereby certify that, on October 12, 2004 the foregoing Defendants' Proposed Notices for 
Class Communications was served by Electronic Case Filing, and on the following who is not 
registered for Electronic Case Filing, by facsimile: 
Earl Old Person (Pro se) 
Blackfeet Tribe 
P.O. Box 850 
Browning, MT 59417 
Fax (406) 338-7530 
/s/ Kevin P. Kingston 
Kevin P. Kingston
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
__________________________________________
) 
ELOUISE PEPION COBELL, et al., ) 
Plaintiffs, 
v. 
)
)
)
)
) 
GALE NORTON, Secretary of the Interior, et al., ) 
Defendants. 
)
) 
__________________________________________) 
ORDER 
This matter comes before the Court on Defendants' Proposed Notices for Class 
Communications. Upon consideration of the Proposed Notice, the responses thereto, and the 
record in this case, it is hereby 
ORDERED that Defendants' proposed language shall be included as a notice that 
accompanies any communication between Defendants and class members regarding the sale, 
exchange, transfer, or conversion of any Indian trust land; it is further 
ORDERED that Defendants' proposed language shall be included as a notice that 
accompanies communications with class members related to: (1) the contract awarded by 
Interior's Office of Historical Trust Accounting to Quapaw Information Systems, Inc. pursuant to 
the settlement agreement in Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma v. Department of the Interior, No. 02- 
CV-129 H(M) (N.D. Okla.); and (2) the activities of Quapaw Information Systems Inc. pursuant 
to that contract. 
Case No. 1:96CV01285 
(Judge Lamberth)
SO ORDERED. 
Date: _________ 
ROYCE C. LAMBERTH 
United States District Judge 
2
cc: 
Sandra P. Spooner 
John T. Stemplewicz 
Commercial Litigation Branch 
Civil Division 
P.O. Box 875 
Ben Franklin Station 
Washington, D.C. 20044-0875 
Fax (202) 514-9163 
Dennis M Gingold, Esq. 
Mark Kester Brown, Esq. 
607 - 14th Street, NW, Box 6 
Washington, DC 20005 
Fax (202) 318-2372 
Keith Harper, Esq. 
Richard A. Guest, Esq. 
Native American Rights Fund 
1712 N Street, NW 
Washington, D.C. 20036-2976 
Fax (202) 822-0068 
Elliott Levitas, Esq. 
1100 Peachtree Street, Suite 2800 
Atlanta, GA 30309-4530 
Earl Old Person (Pro se) 
Blackfeet Tribe 
P.O. Box 850 
Browning, MT 59417 
(406) 338-7530