The Obama administration has taken a definitive step to settle a long-running trust mismanagement class action lawsuit involving hundreds of thousands of Native Americans.

The Department of the Interior announced Dec. 8 that it had negotiated a settlement to the Cobell v. Salazar litigation, which could amount to a $1.4 billion payback to Indian plaintiffs involved in the case.

“We are here today to right a past wrong,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said during a briefing on the plan held at Interior headquarters.

For the settlement to become final, Congress must pass legislation to approve it, and the court overseeing the case must also agree, said Attorney General Eric Holder.

Salazar said he is hopeful that legislative action will occur before the end of the year, based on discussions he’s already had with some lawmakers.

The litigation has centered on the argument that the government mismanaged billions of dollars in oil, gas, grazing, timber and other royalties overseen by the Interior for Indian trustees since 1887.

The case has gone through numerous appeals since it was first filed in 1996.