T

Department of the Interior • Of

RUST 

fi ce of Special Trustee for American Indians 

MATTERS

Volume 13/Issue 2 Spring 2013

Sally Jewell is the new Secretary of the Department of the Interior. 

She was confi rmed by the U.S. Senate on April 10, 2013.

A statement from President Obama noted that 

Secretary Jewell brings, “strong management 

skills, appreciation for our nation’s tradition of 

protecting our public lands and heritage, and a 

keen understanding of what it means to be good 

stewards of our natural resources.” 

Th e swearing-in ceremony of the 51st Secretary 

of the Interior was on April 12 in Washington, 

D.C. She was sworn in by retired Justice Sandra 

Day O’Connor. Secretary Jewell’s fi rst work day 

at Interior was Monday, April 15. 

Secretary Jewell was formerly the President and Chief Executive 

Offi cer of REI Inc., makers of outdoor merchandise. She held that 

position from 2005-2013. She graduated from the University of 

Washington with a degree in mechanical engineering. Her fi rst 

position aft er graduating was with Mobile Oil. Aft er three years, she 

left Mobile Oil to take a job with Rainier Bank. She was with the 

banking industry for 20 years before moving to REI. 

Ms. Jewell has served on the board of several organizations, among 

them the University of Washington Board of Regents, Mountains 

to Sound Greenway Trust, and the National Parks Conservation 

Association. An offi cial biography of the Secretary is available on 

Interior’s website at http://www.doi.gov/whoweare/secretaryjewell.

cfm.

 Sally Jewell Confi rmed as Interior’s Secretary

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Finding WAU Account Owners $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts without current contact information on fi le with the Offi ce of the Special 

Trustee for American Indians (OST) are referred to as Whereabouts Unknown (WAU) accounts. Owners of WAU accounts are not receiving their periodic statements of performance or disbursements from their accounts. It is critical for 

account owners to keep their contact information up-to-date in order to receive their funds and other information. As 

of March 31, 2013, a total of more than $100 million was in WAU accounts. This is money that could be making a diff erence to account owners, and to Indian Country. 

IIM account owners who are not getting their statements, and people who are unsure if they have IIM accounts 

should check out the list of names on the OST website at www.doi.gov/wau. People with names on the list should call 

OST’s Trust Benefi ciary Call Center, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836. The center is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. 

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

www.doi.gov/ost

Table of Contents

Sally Jewell Confi rmed 

Finding WAUs

Buy-Back Program

Partners for Native 

Financial Empowerment

OST on Facebook

OST at the Gathering

1

1

2

2

3

4
2 TRUST MATTERS

Th e Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American Indians 

(OST) partners with many organizations to off er fi nancial training to benefi ciaries and other tribal members. 

Financial skills empower individuals to build and 

protect their fi nancial resources. 

OST is partnering with organizations, such as the 

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and 

the National Financial Education Coalition (NFEC), 

to support fi nancial training. NFEC members include 

tribes, Native organizations, tribal colleges, fi nancial 

institutions, federal agencies, and others. NFEC is 

currently housed at NCAI.

During April Financial Literacy Month in Indian Country, NCAI and NFEC gathered information about the 

many fi nancial training eff orts taking place in Indian 

Country. Visit NCAI’s Native Financial Education 

Initiative on their website (www. ncai.org/initiatives/

nativefi nancial-ed) and check out the toolkit for 

tribal leaders. Th is includes a list of fi nancial education 

events being off ered throughout Indian Country.

For many years, OST’s Fiduciary Trust Offi cers 

(FTOs) have been using the First Nations Development 

Institute’s Building Native Communities: Financial Skills 

for Families and Investing for the Future curricula to 

teach skills related to savings, checking, credit, and 

more. In Indian Country, fi nancial skills are critical 

for tribal members to wisely use their per capita funds 

and other income. Economic development in Native 

communities, as well as personal fi nancial well-being, 

hinges on individuals having such knowledge.

Find out when training is being off ered near you 

by visiting the OST website. Navigate to the Regions 

page (www.doi.gov/ost/ft o/ft oRegions.cfm) and click 

on links to agencies close to you. For more information 

about OST training, contact your agency’s FTO. 

Partners for Native American Financial Empowerment

John McClanahan, Program Manager for the U.S. 

Department of the Interior Land Buy-Back Program 

for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program), and his team 

know information is important to owners with fractional 

land interests. In order to decide whether to sell their 

interests, owners need to understand fractionation 

and to know as much as possible about the program’s 

process.

Th e Buy-Back Program team, which includes staff 

from the Bureau of Indian Aff airs (BIA) and the 

Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American Indians 

(OST), is working on informational products that 

include a handout with frequently asked questions, 

presentations that describe the program in full detail, 

and a sample off er package. Th e program’s website, 

www.doi.gov/buybackprogram, is undergoing a redesign so it will more eff ectively serve visitors to the site.

Th e team is also working with tribes to plan for the 

program. Buy-Back staff from BIA and OST recently 

attended the third Annual Tribal Land Staff Conference 

to discuss how the Buy-Back Program and tribes can 

share information to help implement the program. 

Staff are working to circulate information about how 

tribes and the Buy-Back Program can enter into cooperative, government-to-government agreements to 

facilitate implementation of the program.

Funding for the Buy-Back Program comes from the 

$1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund established 

in the Cobell Settlement, fi nalized November 12, 2013. 

Th e Fund will be used to purchase, at fair market 

value, interests from 

willing sellers. All 

fractional interests 

purchased by the 

Buy-Back Program 

will be held in trust 

for the tribe with 

jurisdiction over the 

tract of land, which 

can then be used by 

the tribe for social, economic, and cultural activities. Purchased interests will 

remain in trust status. As an additional incentive, when 

individuals sell fractional interests, a payment from the 

Fund will go to an Indian Education Scholarship Fund 

for American Indian and Alaska Native students. Up 

to $60 million can be paid into the scholarship fund.

Obtain information about the Buy-Back Program by 

calling the Trust Benefi ciary Call Center, toll free, at 

1-888-678-6836. Owners with fractional land interests 

can register their desire to sell their interests when 

they call. Th is information may help with planning for 

the Buy-Back Program.

John McClanahan Program Manager for the U S Funding for the Buy Back Program comes from the

Land owners attend a session 

about the Buy-Back Program
VOLUME 13, ISSUE 2 3

Th e Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American Indians 

(OST) has added Facebook as a means to access information about OST’s regional fi eld offi ces. As the result 

of a pilot eff ort with fi ve OST Fiduciary Trust Offi cers 

(FTOs), benefi ciaries can now obtain detailed information about the following OST fi eld offi ces on Facebook.

» Colorado River Agency

» Fort Hall Agency

» Minnesota Agency

» Santee Sioux Field Offi ce

» Tulsa Urban Offi ce

Th ese fi ve fi eld offi ces also have detailed information 

on the OST website (www.doi.gov/ost).

By the time you read this article, more fi eld offi ces will 

have active pages on the OST website. Each fi eld offi ce 

page provides staff contact information, the offi ce’s 

address and directions to get there, and local events. At 

the bottom of each page, you can click on a choice of 

links to access a list of names of those account holders 

who do not have current contact information on fi le 

with OST. One link will take you to the whole list of 

names. Th e other will take you to a list tailored for that 

fi eld offi ce. 

But there is more. At the top of each fi eld offi ce’s page, 

there is a link to that offi ce’s Facebook page. So, if you 

are an avid Facebook fan or are just curious, check out 

OST’s local Facebook pages.

For information about the project, contact your FTO. 

Visit the whole list of links to fi eld offi ce pages by visiting the OST website at www.doi.gov/ost. Click on the 

Regions tab at the top of the page. On the Fiduciary 

Trust Offi cers by Region page, scroll down the list until 

you locate the offi ce of interest to you. You might even 

decide to “Like” it on Facebook.

OST Field Offices on Facebook

Did you know? Since the Cobell 

Stage 1 payments were issued in late 

December 2012, more than 14,100 

benefi ciaries have been located.
4 TRUST MATTERS

The Gathering of Nations Powwow was held April 25-27, 2013, in Albuquerque, N.M. Several employees 

with the Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) staff ed the OST booth to provide 

information and answer questions. Th ey came prepared with answers about Cobell payments and the 

Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations.

Attendees were encouraged 

to visit OST’s Field Operations booth by an advertisement in the offi cial program 

booklet, and also by a large 

banner outside the vendor 

tent. Both the ad and banner contained a QR (Quick 

Response) code — those 

funny looking black and 

white blocks that represent 

a two-dimensional bar code. 

When attendees used their 

smartphones to scan the 

QR code, they were linked 

to the OST website page 

titled Is OST Holding Money for You? 

On that page, visitors to the website can search for their 

names. Anyone whose name is on the list does not have 

current contact information for their Individual Indian 

Money (IIM) account on fi le with OST. Without current 

contact information, OST is unable to send statements or 

make disbursements to the account holder. Such accounts 

are referred to as Whereabouts Unknown (WAU).

OST is making a concerted eff ort to locate account holders 

who are on the WAU list. Th e money in those accounts 

belongs to the account holders and could be making a 

diff erence both to the account holders and to the economy 

of Indian Country. So, if you spot the names of people 

you know on the list, encourage them to get in touch with 

OST. Th ey can do so by calling OST’s Trust Benefi ciary 

Call Center, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836. Th e center is 

open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 

Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, Mountain time. 

Weren’t able to attend the Gathering or stop by OST’s 

booth? You can still get answers to questions about your 

IIM account. Scan the QR code on this page or visit www.

doi.gov/ost, the OST website. Click on the tab at 

the top of the page. Th e page lists local agencies. Click on 

the link for your agency to access information about the 

agency’s staff and more.

OST Reaches Tribal Members at the Gathering of Nations

Advertisement with Quick Response (QR) Code

Check online for your name3⁄4

then visit the OST booth 

in the big tent.

Office of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians (OST)

 Cobell MONEY 

for

American Indians

Visit OST in the big tent !

Section of Whereabouts Unknown Page on OST’s Website