Complex sentence: Sturm (1998) p235 referring to Plaintiff's Statement, Nero, 1986 As the Cherokee Nation had already distributed the funds they had received, the US government as co-defendant was to pay the award to the Cherokee Freedmen.
Split into simpler sentences: Sturm (1998) p235 referring to Plaintiff's Statement, Nero, 1986 The Cherokee Nation had already distributed the funds they had received. As co-defendant in the case, the US government was to pay the award to the Cherokee Freedmen.