"Indian tribe suing companies for oil spill damages", 10 Oct 2015

The Pointe-au-Chien Indian tribe is suing BP, Transocean and Halliburton for damages in connection with the severe loss of tribal lands and resources stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010…"The spilled oil directly impacted vast portions of the Gulf of Mexico coastline, including (the tribe's) aboriginal lands," tribal chiefs Charles Verdin and Donald Dardar alleged in the lawsuit. "These are lands historically occupied by tribal members and ancestors, and include tribal cemeteries, sacred sites, Indian mounds, archaeological sites, village sites, shell middens and traditional fisheries."[T]he tribe…opted to not accept the compensation offered by BP, as it was insufficient to cover its out-of-pocket costs and amounted to less than $75,000…"Throughout the course of the spill, (tribal) members were unable to fish as a result of government spill-related closures of its fishing grounds," the suit says. "After fisheries reopened, the resources were less available and subject to greater pressure, causing a decrease in the amount of natural resources available for subsistence use."…Compensatory damages are also sought for loss of use of subsistence and natural resources…