OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes have received nearly $6.5 million in trust funds frozen since 2012.

A trust fund at First Bank and Trust of Clinton had been frozen since April 2012. A Custer County judge ordered the funds held in a court-supervised account until a dispute was resolved between two factions within the tribes, The Oklahoman reported Sunday.

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Supreme Court in December 2013 determined that Eddie Hamilton was governor of the tribes, settling the internal dispute. After further negotiations, the bank agreed to withdraw the lawsuit and return the money.

A hearing in the case had been scheduled last month, but before it took place the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals ordered the case immediately dismissed. The tribes regained access to the money March 4.

"It was refreshing to see the court acknowledge again as part of the tribe's inherent right as a government it has sovereign immunity from suit and has the right to determine its own leadership," attorney William Norman said.

The Oklahoma-based tribes stayed afloat by borrowing from their tax commission, furloughing 58 employees and slashing salaries for hundreds more while the money was inaccessible, Cheyenne and Arapaho Lt. Gov. Cornell Sankey said.

"It's a blessing to the tribe to have these funds returned to us," he said.

"I appreciate those involved in securing the release of the funding and for the bank's cooperation," Hamilton said. "We are eager to see the funds put to the use they were originally intended — funding services to tribal members."

The Cheyenne and Arapaho will use the funds to repay the $2.4 million borrowed from the tribal tax commission and fund its ongoing programs, Sankey said.

The money has been distributed into 25 fund accounts, 23 of which are federal programs.

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Concho. Of 12,185 enrolled tribal citizens, 8,664 live within Oklahoma.