“Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff who filed the class-action lawsuit in 1996, said she believed that the Indians were owed more, but that it was better to reach an agreement that could help impoverished trust holders than to spend more years in court.”
The impoverished trust holders get $1,000 (or possibly just $500) for each account. As a “Class Representative” however, Ms. Cobell is in line, with others, to receive “in the range of $15 million.”
Quotation from news coverage of tentative settlement in The New York Times. Term “Class Representative” and $15 million figure from Class Action Settlement Agreement.