Our Story · Our History
It started with one voice. It became a legacy.
The Cobell Scholarship didn't start with a donation or a grant. It started with a 15-year legal battle — one woman demanding justice on behalf of half a million Native Americans. Here's how that fight became your future.
The arc, year by year
From one lawsuit to 6,000+ futures.
The milestones that turned a legal battle into an educational movement.
1887
The Dawes Act breaks up tribal lands
U.S. Congress passes the General Allotment Act, carving communally-held tribal lands into individual 160-acre 'allotments.' Surplus land is sold to white settlers — Native Americans lose roughly 90 million acres, nearly two-thirds of tribal land holdings. The federal government becomes the legal trustee of remaining allotted lands and any income generated from them.
1887
The Dawes Act breaks up tribal lands
U.S. Congress passes the General Allotment Act, carving communally-held tribal lands into individual 160-acre 'allotments.' Surplus land is sold to white settlers — Native Americans lose roughly 90 million acres, nearly two-thirds of tribal land holdings. The federal government becomes the legal trustee of remaining allotted lands and any income generated from them.
1800-1900
A century of broken promises
The Bureau of Indian Affairs was required to manage Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust accounts — collecting lease payments from mining, grazing, and timber on allotted lands and distributing them to account holders. Instead, funds were commingled, records destroyed or never kept, payments never made. By the 1990s, billions of dollars owed to 500,000+ Native Americans had vanished into federal bureaucracy with no accounting.
1996
Elouise Cobell files Cobell v. Salazar
A class-action lawsuit on behalf of over 500,000 individual Native Americans alleging decades of federal mismanagement of Indian trust accounts. It's the largest suit of its kind ever filed against the United States government.
1996
Elouise Cobell files Cobell v. Salazar
A class-action lawsuit on behalf of over 500,000 individual Native Americans alleging decades of federal mismanagement of Indian trust accounts. It's the largest suit of its kind ever filed against the United States government.
2009
$3.4 billion settlement reached
After 15 years of litigation, the case results in the largest settlement ever against the U.S. government.
- $1.9 billion to individual trust holders
- $1.5 billion to establish the Land Buy-Back Program
- A portion set aside to create an education scholarship fund
2011
Elouise Cobell passes away at 65
Elouise dies on October 16, 2011 — just before the settlement is finalized by Congress. She never sees the first scholarship awarded. But her fight ensures that every future scholar carries her name and her legacy.
2011
Elouise Cobell passes away at 65
Elouise dies on October 16, 2011 — just before the settlement is finalized by Congress. She never sees the first scholarship awarded. But her fight ensures that every future scholar carries her name and her legacy.
2012
Settlement finalized by Congress
The Claims Resolution Act is fully implemented. The scholarship fund is formally established as part of the settlement agreement, creating a permanent mechanism to invest in Native education.
2015
Inaugural scholarship class awarded
The first Cobell Scholars are awarded under the previous administering organization, establishing the scholarship program and beginning Elouise's educational legacy in action.
2015
Inaugural scholarship class awarded
The first Cobell Scholars are awarded under the previous administering organization, establishing the scholarship program and beginning Elouise's educational legacy in action.
2016
IEI established and first scholars under new administration
Indigenous Education, Inc. (IEI) is created to manage the Cobell Scholarship. The first Cobell Scholars under IEI are awarded in Fall 2016.
- Develops the application process and scholarship categories
- Covers undergraduate through doctoral and vocational work
- Builds the OASIS portal to reach students across the country
2017
Graduate Summer Research Fellowship and Dissertation Fellowship launch
The inaugural cohort of the Graduate Summer Research Fellowship is awarded. The Elouise Cobell Dissertation Writing-Year Fellowship is also created, with an inaugural cohort of 10 researchers awarded $30,000 each.
2017
Graduate Summer Research Fellowship and Dissertation Fellowship launch
The inaugural cohort of the Graduate Summer Research Fellowship is awarded. The Elouise Cobell Dissertation Writing-Year Fellowship is also created, with an inaugural cohort of 10 researchers awarded $30,000 each.
2024
Six scholarship types now supporting every path to education
From undergraduate degrees to vocational training to doctoral dissertations, the program now funds Native American and Alaska Native students across every type of post-secondary education. Every scholar part of Elouise's legacy.
- Undergraduate, graduate, vocational, and trade paths represented
- Six distinct scholarship and fellowship types
- Every path to education supported
The next chapter
This story isn't over. The next chapter is yours.
From a lawsuit to a legacy. From a settlement to a scholarship. From 6,000+ scholars to the next one — you. Elouise Cobell started this. You get to continue it.