T

Department of the Interior • Of

RUST 

fi ce of Special Trustee for American Indians 

MATTERS

Volume 12/Issue 2 Spring 2012

Now you can choose a safer, simpler and greener way to be notifi ed when 

funds are sent to you electronically from your IIM account. 

If you have funds sent by direct deposit from your Individual Indian 

Money (IIM) account to either your fi nancial institution or your U.S. 

Debit Card (formerly Chase debit card) account (rather than by paper 

check), you may choose among four deposit notifi cation options. 

Currently, the Offi ce of Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) sends 

you a paper deposit notifi cation by regular mail each time funds are sent 

electronically from your IIM account. Now, you may choose any one of 

the following alternatives: 

1) text message deposit notifi cations*

2) email deposit notifi cations**

3) discontinue deposit notifi cations

4) continue paper deposit notifi cations

OST is in the process of notifying benefi ciaries by mail about these 

options. Th e letter from OST includes a form on which to make your 

selection and a postage paid envelope to return the form to OST. 

You need to communicate your choice to OST by July 31, 2012. Aft er that 

date, if you have not selected any option you will, by default, no longer 

receive a deposit notifi cation each time funds are sent to your account.

Regardless of your choice of any of the options, your quarterly statement 

of performance will continue to provide detailed account information.

Here are a few advantages to consider as you make your choice. Electronic 

notifi cations are safer than paper notifi cations, which can be intercepted 

by unintended persons. Electronic notifi cations are greener, savings paper 

and, therefore, trees. Also, you don’t have to deal with the clutter of more 

paper. Electronic notifi cations are quicker; they are sent when the funds 

are sent. Paper notifi cations oft en reach you aft er funds have already 

appeared in your account. 

For more information about these options, contact your Fiduciary 

Trust Offi cer (FTO) or call the Trust Benefi ciary Call Center 

(TBCC). Locate your FTO online at www.doi.gov/ost/ft o. You can 

reach TBCC, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836. TBCC is open Monday 

through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon, 

Mountain time.

New Deposit Notifi cation Options

Did you know? The Trust Benefi ciary 

Call Center took its fi rst call 

December 2004.

*To use the text message 

option, you will need to 

provide your cell phone 

number to OST. Please note 

that your cell phone carrier’s 

standard text message 

charges will apply.

** If you select the email 

option, you need to provide 

OST with an email address.

Table of Contents

Deposit Notifi cations 

Career Fairs

Oil & Gas: On the Rise

Financial Skills Training

Callers Top Questions

Geospatial Pilot Project

1

2

3

3

4

4
2 TRUST MATTERS

Th e Offi ce of Special Trustee for American Indians 

(OST) has participated in six career fairs in New Mexico 

and Texas since October 2011, the beginning of the 

federal government’s fi scal year. (see list in next column) 

Career fairs provide an opportunity to distribute 

specifi c employment information to prospective 

employees. Fair attendees receive personalized 

attention and responses to their questions as current 

employees expand upon the organization’s functions, 

scope, responsibility, services and available programs. 

People oft en approach OST’s booth with questioning 

looks on their faces. Even if they are familiar with the 

Department of the Interior, they may be unfamiliar 

with OST.

A conversation between a current and a prospective 

employee usually starts with general information about 

OST. It then narrows to address requirements and 

locations of positions currently available. To augment 

the prospective employee’s knowledge, human resources 

personnel partner with OST employees at career fairs.

Additional assistance may be provided during these 

events. For example, a young Navajo man was made 

aware of the whereabouts unknown list, which contains the names of benefi ciaries who do not have current address information on fi le with OST. Th e young 

man was encouraged to contact the Trust Benefi ciary 

Call Center (TBCC) to begin the process of verifying 

his identity. He gratefully expressed to OST employees 

at a subsequent career fair that he learned he had an 

account with ownership interest and had inherited 

money from a deceased relative. 

Participation in additional career fairs through the 

rest of the fi scal year are anticipated but have not 

been fi nalized. For more information about upcoming 

career fairs, call OST’s Offi ce of External Aff airs at 

1-505-816-1081.

OST Participates in Career Fairs

Goals of Career Fair Participation:

• Recruit talented individuals for available positions within OST

• Publicize or communicate to the public what OST does and has accomplished

• Provide expert advice to applicants regarding the federal application process

Career Fairs Attended

(Fiscal Year 2012)

November 3, 2011

University of New Mexico 

Public Service Career Showcase

November 15, 2011

New Mexico State University 

Government & Public Service 

Career Fair

February 02, 2012

University of Texas El Paso 

Business and Liberal Arts Career Fair

February 07, 2012

University of New Mexico Career Expo 2012

April 18, 2012

Jemez Pueblo Job/College 

Fair

April 26, 2012

University of New Mexico 

Anderson School of 

Management 6th Annual 

Native American Career Fair

< Carlos Torres (third from left), 

 with Human Resources, 

 answers attendees questions

 at the University of New Mexico 

 Career Expo 2012
VOLUME 12, ISSUE 2 3

So much need and so much to do! Th e Pacifi c 

Regional Offi ce in Sacramento, California, is 

partnering with local organizations to provide fi nancial 

skills training for American Indians in several, local 

urban areas. Th e Offi ce of Special Trustee for American 

Indians (OST) Fiduciary Trust Offi cer Diana Wuerth 

and her staff are receiving requests for this much needed 

training. Th ey’re planning strategically so they can 

eff ectively provide their outreach eff orts while staying 

within the constraints of their tight operational budget.

Plans are well under way with Friendship House in 

San Francisco, a nonprofi t organization that promotes 

healing and wellness to a large urban population of 

American Indians. FTO Wuerth and her staff are also 

making plans with the Native Temporary Assistance 

for Needy Families programs in Oakland, San Francisco 

and San Jose. In addition, they are working with the 

Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley. Among 

these locations, training sessions will be off ered over a 

week’s timeframe from August 20-24, 2012. 

Th e fi nancial training to be provided is culturally 

focused and covers topics such as investing, checking 

and savings accounts, budgeting and planning for the 

future in order to build and manage personal wealth. 

Modules on understanding credit and applying for 

credit are also of critical importance and interest. 

Everyone associated with arranging for and providing 

this training is excited about the impact it will have. 

Interest is high. If you are in the San Francisco/Bay 

Area and would like to attend the scheduled training, 

please contact the Pacifi c Regional Offi ce at 916-978-

6168. 

Financial skills training is being planned in other parts 

of Indian country too. For information about training 

in your area, contact your local Fiduciary Trust Offi cer. 

Th e list of Fiduciary Trust Offi cers is available online at 

 www.doi.gov/ost/ft o.

Expanding Personal Financial Skills Training

The Bakken formation is a relatively 

new oil fi eld in North Dakota and 

Montana. Its production is contributing 

to high royalties being paid to individual 

Indian trust benefi ciaries. Th e distribution 

February 15, 2012, of just over $23 million 

was a record high for oil and gas royalties 

distributed by the Offi ce of Special 

Trustee for American Indians (OST) to 

benefi ciaries’ accounts. Of this amount, 

production from the Bakken formation 

accounted for more than 75 percent of 

the royalty money. Th e chart shows the 

signifi cant rise in oil and gas distributions 

since the beginning of fi scal year 2011.

Oil and Gas Distributions: On the Rise

< The federal fi scal year (FY) is October 1 

 through September 30.

Planning fi nancial training at the Oakland, California, Native 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families location >
4 TRUST MATTERS

Callers Top Questions

What’s my account balance? Th at’s the most frequent 

question asked by callers to the Offi ce of Special Trustee 

for American Indians Trust Benefi ciary Call Center 

(TBCC). About 46 percent of callers request an account 

balance. Closely related to the top question is the next 

question, which runs a distant second. About 27 percent 

of callers ask about oil and gas royalties posted to 

accounts. 

Other frequent topics include queries about the last 

receipt or an upcoming receipt on an account (10 

percent), requests for a one-time disbursement (8 

percent) and questions about the Cobell settlement* 

(6 percent). Callers also call to provide account address 

updates (6 percent).

TBCC’s trained representatives respond to callers. 

Representatives have access to electronic data in 

benefi ciaries’ accounts, therefore, accurate information 

is quickly available. About 94 percent of calls handled 

by representatives are resolved while the caller is on the 

line. Responses that need additional research are tracked 

by TBCC until answers are provided.

You can contact the TBCC, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836. 

Th e hours of operation are Monday through Friday 7 a.m. 

to 6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon, Mountain time.

*TBCC provides general status information, 

September 30, 2009, account balances and IIM 

performance statements for 2009. Callers with specifi c 

inquiries about the status of the settlement and who 

request assistance with claim forms are referred to the 

Cobell plaintiff s’ website (www.indiantrust.com) and call 

center (1-800-961-6109).

Geospatial Pilot 

Project Underway

The Offi ce of Special Trustee for 

American Indians (OST) has 

undertaken a geospatial pilot 

project to improve real estate 

appraisal effi ciency. The pilot 

project has resulted in signifi cant 

increases in the number of appraisals completed, has decreased fi eld 

inspection time and improved 

appraisal report quality. 

The pilot project uses U.S. Department of Agriculture land use data, 

Bureau of Land Management 

public land survey data, Bureau of 

Indian Aff airs parcel data and Bing 

Maps aerial photo/topographic 

map data to accurately quantify 

Indian lands for appraisal. Global 

positioning systems are being 

used to improve fi eld inspections. 

Integration between geographic 

information systems and open 

database compliant systems 

enhances real estate appraisal 

mapping. The use of geospatial 

data is the number one tool for 

land management, according to 

at least one user in the fi eld.

OST has incurred minimal costs 

as all data are existing datasets, 

all software is part of the Department of the Interior enterprise 

software and everything has been 

developed with existing hardware. 

Labor costs have been minimal.

Future plans are to complete 

system testing, fi nalize a training 

program, acquire nationwide data 

sets, develop automated mapping 

for agricultural properties and 

implement on a national basis. 

Draft video training sessions have 

been developed already.

Contact OST’s Offi ce of Appraisal 

Services for information about the 

geospatial pilot project. Call 

1-505-816-1318.

Clipart courtesy of First People: www.firstpeople.us