Kirsti Holland ‘25, a political science major, was honored by the Cherokee Nation for her instrumental role in its groundbreaking $80 million trust settlement with the US government. She was recognized, along with three other citizens of the Cherokee Nation, for her critical archival research that helped lay the foundation for the legal victory.

The settlement resolves a 2016 lawsuit, Cherokee Nation v. US Department of Interior, in which the Cherokee Nation accused the U.S. government of mismanaging the tribe’s trust resources since the 19th century. These resources included proceeds from land sales, coal leases, oil and gas development and other assets.

“It is fitting that we honor the four people who worked in anonymity, doing hard work that many people didn’t understand at the time,” said Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation principal chief. “Their work helped knock down the injustices of the United States that had been visited upon the Cherokee Nation for far too long.”

Holland, with fellow researchers Joe Price, Dustin Geasland and Logan Lewis, examined and digitally scanned extensive records housed by multiple agencies, which will be preserved digitally and made accessible for future research by the Cherokee Nation. The tribe plans to use the settlement funds to construct a new justice center that will house their Supreme Court, district court and attorney general’s office.