Washington, D.C. - 300,000 were given the right to sue the federal government in a history making, landmark decision.

The largest class action suit ever filed against the federal government for financial incompetence was certified by federal judge Royce C. Lambert Feb.

The suit is also the broadest legal effort American Indians have ever made against the federal government, according to the Native American Rights Fund.

The class includes more than 300,000 individual Indian account holders who argue that the federal government mismanaged the Individual Indian Money accounts and misplaced billions of dollars owed individual American Indians because of poor record keeping.

The suit was filed in June 1996. The federal government just recently responded, attempting to stop the action.

"I was very ecstatic with the judge's certifying of the class," said Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation and lead plaintiff. "I have heard horror stories from elders wondering if ther would be any progress done against the federal government.

"This is a giant step for us, especially since the government opposed the class," she said.

Judge Lamberth said the federal government had acted or refused to act according to the wishes of the IIM account holders, therefor making a lawsuit appropriate. He added that any person who indivi ally filed suit against the government relative to the IIM accounts may now join in the class action.

"This is an historic accomplishment for Indian country," said John Echohawk, executive director of the NARF. "We stand poised now to force the government to honor its legal obligation to manage ou critical trust fund prudently. Century old excuses and stonewalling have been rejected by the judge and will simply no longer work."

The federal government responded to the suit saying it has upheld its trust responsibility with the IIM accounts. The NARF suit claims the BIA, department of Interior and Treasury Department misma ged billions of the dollars by losing account holders addresses, non-communication with account holders and by placing many of the funds into the general fund of the United States Treasur

"The government fought tooth and nail to prevent class certification," said Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff. "That's because now that the court has affirmed us, we will be able to prove how ir onsible and damaging their handling of our money has been.

"They basically said we didn't deserve an accounting," she said.

Keith Harper, one of the attorneys for the class, said they were in the process of talking with the federal government attempting to bring relief for the plaintiffs outside of litigatio

"We are going to go ahead trying for prospective relief and push hard in the next few weeks to seek some interim relief insisting that things be put in place to stop the bleedin

"As to retroactive relief we will go ahead and continue the cooperation with the government to set the ground rules for statistical analysis," Mr. Harper sai

The class certification will allow the IIM account holders to pursue, for the first time: a full accounting of trust funds; the establishment of new management systems; and full restitution for all moneys lost or stolen over the entire term of the 160-year-old trust.

"The government should be willing to come forward and start admitting they breached the trust and start giving Indians their just due," Ms. Cobell said, adding, "They need to due that. Why drag it ut? Its already been proven they can't give us an accounting.

"They ought to work with our attorneys and figure out how to get a settlement without having to drag it out. We are not stopping."

The federal government is entrusted with managing , investing and (sic) distrubing moneys generated from leases for oil, natural gas, grazing, timber and other fees on land and properties owned by dividual American Indians. The class action contends the federal government mismanaged those funds due individuals. The money does not belong to the federal government, nor does it come from gove ment allocations.

The Department of Justice would not offer any comments on the certification as long as litigation is in progress.