RIVERTON, Wyo. (AP) — A legal settlement that will provide payments to hundreds of thousands of American Indian trust beneficiaries could bring between $6 million and $8 million to Wyoming in the weeks ahead.

The $3.4 billion settlement follows a 17-year legal case over mismanagement of American Indian land trust royalties.

The Associated Press reports that Wyoming is home to as many as 8,000 beneficiaries on the Wind River Indian Reservation and surrounding areas.

Nationwide, some 350,000 beneficiaries could start getting $1,000 checks as the first part of the settlement goes forward in the next month or so.

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