$27.5 BILLION FRAUD, CORRUPTION AND INSTITUTIONAL INCOMPETENCE REVEALED IN THE DOCUMENTARY FILM “100 YEARS” AS ELOUISE COBELL, A MODERN DAY HERO, TAKES ON THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN LARGEST CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT EVER BATTLED
One Woman’s 30-year Fight for the Rights of Native Americans Following 100+ Years of Abuse by the United States Government
Mayetta, KS – These are the prevailing themes depicted in the documentary, 100 Years, produced and directed by Melinda Janko.
Janko will screen the movie 100 Years on Monday, September 10, 2018. Screenings will occur at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort Convention Center in Mayetta, Kansas. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation invites all to attend and meet with Janko for a Question and Answer session following each screening.
After 15 years in the courts, more than a century of gross mismanagement of mineral-rich Indian lands is brought to justice by a petite Blackfeet Indian, Elouise Cobell. The massive lawsuit filed against the Departments of the Interior and Treasury, with intense resistance from two presidential administrations, finally led to a victorious $3.4 billion settlement for 300,000 beneficiaries of the Indian Trust Fund. It is the largest settlement award in U.S. history.
For 30 years Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff, tirelessly pressed the U.S. Government to account for funds owed to Native Americans. After all attempts failed, she said, “Enough is enough,” and filed the largest class action lawsuit ever filed against the U.S. Government. No one believed she could win. Cobell’s unrelenting fight for justice causes many to consider her a new generation’s Rosa Parks.
Director Janko was moved by Elouise Cobell’s hard fought battle to right a historic wrong: “She never, ever quit, despite the massive obstacles created by the U.S. Government,” she said. Cobell trusted Janko in telling her story to the world, in order to give a voice to all indigenous people.
Janko is the head of independent production company Fire in the Belly Productions, Inc. based in Southern California. Fire in the Belly Productions, Inc. specializes in creating documentary films that seek to entertain and enlighten the public on a variety of issues. Its name symbolizes passion and commitment with the common goal of “making films that make a difference.”
For more information, visit: http://www.100yearsthemovie.com
For press inquiries contact: Michelle Simon – Media Relations Specialist | Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
By Phone: 785-966-3920
By Email: michellesimon@pbpnation.org