Trust Beneficiary Call Center 

Toll-free: 

(888) 678-6836 ext. 0 

Monday through Friday 

7 am to 6 pm, Mountain Time

Recently, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) reached a major milestone in trust reform. At the Concho 

and Anadarko model agencies in Oklahoma, staff members tackled a list of more than 

740 tasks, and completed major improvements in the processing of the Indian Trust. 

Today, the Concho and Anadarko agencies represent the future. In the coming 

months, other field agencies will restructure their services to mirror those at the 

model agencies. This is no small feat. To reach this goal, contractors, OST and BIA 

staff spent more than 145,000 hours completing a long list to meet their deadline. 

Just a few of the results: 

New technology improves efficiency. The implementation and 

validation of new technology for title and leasing information 

means that Concho and Anadarko agencies will no longer require 

multiple non-integrated legacy systems to maintain trust land surface information. The changes expedite the time it takes for beneficiaries to receive their trust funds, provide real time data for 

staff to carry out their duties more efficiently, and facilitate automated billing and trust fund distribution capabilities. 

New technology improves collections. The implementation and validation of land 

title and leasing software supports the implementation of a lockbox for fund collection processing. Today, for Concho and Anadarko agencies, fund receivables are established, payment invoices are automatically generated and sent to lessees in advance of being due, and collections are immediately deposited into the Treasury. 

Coordination improves services for beneficiaries. OST and BIA developed new, 

efficient business processes between the two offices for such things as lease collections, automated fund distributions, communication, and encumbrance information. 

Data input leads to new statements. Staff and contractors have encoded and verified information on asset owner interests, encumbrances, and tracts representing 

493,549 acres of trust land. The Land Title Records Office processed 2,247 probates, 

and 1,319 probate modifications (this accounted for backlogged probates at Concho 

and Anadarko). With this information, current account details can more readily be 

provided to beneficiaries. More than 10,000 account statements that included information on trust asset ownership, encumbrances, account balances, receipts, disbursements, and liabilities also were distributed. 

Training on the new programs creates a more effective workforce. Staff received training on the new programs and services, including the title and leasing software, Customer StrataStation, Trust Asset Accounting Management System, 

Vital Records, lockbox operations and more to improve their efficiency and knowledge of the systems and new processes. 

The recent enhancements to the agency models allow Interior to 

move forward and implement these changes across Indian Country. 

OST and BIA have a target date of the end of December of 2007 to 

have all agencies working with the new processes.

TRUST MATTERS

Department of the Interior — 

Office of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians 

January 2006 

Volume 5, Issue 1 

DOI Reaches a Major Milestone in Trust Reform at 

Concho and Anadarko Model Offices 

GSA Awards OST’s 

Call Center! 

The U.S. General Services Administration 

awarded its 2005 

Federal Technology Service (FTS) 

Award for Cost Effectiveness Excellence to OST in August. The 

award recognizes OST “For the 

planning, design, and implementation of its Trust Beneficiary Call 

Center (TBCC) in support of 

improving services and information for Indian trust beneficiaries...and for its significant 

achievements in improving the 

cost effectiveness of its systems 

through the use of FTS services.” 

Employees recognized include 

Bryan Marozas, Will 

Honeyestewa, Robert Aguayo, 

Richard Namm, Helen Riggs, Julia 

Chavez and Sophia Horse. 

Honeyestewa states, “We are 

pleased by this recognition. It is 

the result of a collaborative effort 

by OST’s Office of the Chief Information Officer and the Field 

Operations Division. When beneficiaries call and receive prompt 

answers, it makes our efforts so 

worthwhile.”
 

10 Quick Facts That Paint the Monumental Picture 

 X For more than 100 years, miners worked under the rolling hills of Kansas 

chipping out limestone for uses such as construction and road-building. In the 1950s, workers began to mine limestone 

with the aim of leaving behind useable subterranean space. 

Y There is an estimated 20 million square feet of business and industrial space underground in the greater Kansas 

City area. This is about 10% of the business space in the area. In Lenexa, Kansas—a half hour from Kansas City—more 

than a dozen organizations operate their businesses 80 to 100 feet underground in old limestone mines. 

Z NARA has 1.3 million cubic feet of storage space available for federal records underground in Lenexa. 

[ AIRR is a product of a partnership between NARA and the Department of the Interior. This is the first such partnership in history. AIRR meets the National Archives’ 2009 standards for records storage and is on par with the best 

archival facilities in the world. 

\ More than 125 contractors and Interior staff members work at AIRR. 

]Students from nearby Haskell Indian Nations University attend a portion of their records management 

coursework at AIRR, and Interior staff help facilitate their studies.

^ In about two years more than 120,000 boxes of Indian Affairs records have been indexed and deposited at AIRR. 

 _ Approximately 1,000 boxes of Indian records are delivered to AIRR annex and 

facilities each month. 

`The air inside AIRR is filtered repeatedly throughout the day for airborne particulates, dust, and filaments. 

a Ink pens, gum, candy, food, and liquids are not allowed in the records storage 

facility at AIRR. 

Page 2 Trust Matters 

The American Indian Records Repository

Deep under the grassy hills of Lenexa, Kansas, not far 

from Haskell Indian Nations University, Interior employees, contractors, and staff from the National Archives Records Administration are working together to 

preserve Indian Affairs records. Each morning, these 

employees drive down a hill and into the gaping mouth 

of a limestone cave to get to work at the American Indian Records Repository (AIRR). The walls of their 

workspace are craggy, bumpy limestone, painted white. 

There, boxes upon boxes of records are stored in strict 

compliance with National Archives Records Administration (NARA) standards, on shelving stacked 14 levels 

high, the length and width of a football field. 

These boxes store retired Indian Affairs records from 

BIA agencies and OST offices all over the nation. Some 

boxes hold maps from the early part of the last century; 

some hold children’s school records, and many hold trust 

records. According to Interior’s new report, Historical 

Accounting for Individual Indian Monies: A Progress 

Report, “AIRR provides secure access to records for research by individual Indians, tribes, and historians, with 

permission from Interior, and for Interior 

staff conducting the 

historical accounting of 

Indian Trust records.” 
Volume 5, Issue 1 Page 3 

 All Aboard! FTO Station 

 Your One Stop Outreach Shop 

Fiduciary Trust Officers (FTOs) seeking information on news articles, promotional brochures, or presentations, can now 

find these resources, and more, on OST’s Information Network (InfoNet) page, FTO Station – Your One Stop Outreach 

Shop. The station, located beneath InfoNet’s Library heading, serves as a resource center for field operations staff 

seeking information and materials for outreach activities. Now employees can obtain the information they need in a centralized and convenient location—saving time and effort in searching for the information elsewhere or developing the 

materials on their own. 

Other examples of available items include copies of editorials, talking points, and press releases that provide information 

on relevant issues in the news media; event announcements, presentations, and sample letters that assist with outreach 

activities; and contacts for ordering brochures, newsletters, and display banners for informational events. The Office of External Affairs developed the station to provide outreach support to Field Operations staff. To fuel your knowledge of outreach resources, visit the FTO station today.

Just a few of the informational items available at FTO Station on OST’s Infonet 

OST’s David Pradt Receives “Outstanding Member Award” 

David Pradt, Senior Property Management Officer in OST’s Office of Budget Finance and 

Administration, recently received an “Outstanding Member Award” from the National Property Management Association. Pradt is currently the Vice President of the nonprofit organization that works to advance the profession of personal property and fixed-asset management. According to Pradt, “My goal is to give 110 percent support through property, lease 

vehicles, and art and artifacts. I was very proud to accept the award on behalf of OST and 

Interior.” The Outstanding Member Award is given for exceptional service at the chapter 

level, and is for the lifetime of the member. Congratulations David. Pradt (right) with NPMA National 

President David Hay. 

Whereabouts Known! By the end of November 2005 staff found 17,317 people on the WAU list with a total of $23.7 million. 
Fiduciary Trust Officers, Making a Difference 

Every day, OST’s Fiduciary Trust Officers (FTOs) across the nation 

are making an impact in the lives of trust beneficiaries. Here are 

just a few examples: 

Karen Whitenton, FTO—Western 

Nevada Agency: 

FTO helps beneficiary with WAU trust funds. 

Whitenton located a beneficiary whose 

whereabouts had been unknown, and who 

had more than $16,000 in an Individual 

Indian Money trust account. The beneficiary had been involved in an automobile 

accident, and did not have the means to 

travel to Nevada to request the necessary 

birth certificate for identification. OST 

obtained the forms to request a birth certificate and forwarded them to the beneficiary 

who returned them, and was able to receive all of his funds. 

Tom Young, FTO—Rapid City, SD: 

Elderly beneficiary gets help with correcting the spelling of her name. 

In a matter of moments, Young assisted an elderly beneficiary by making a correction to 

the misspelling of her name on the mailing address of her trust statement. This beneficiary 

had previously spent significant time and energy trying to get the change made. 

Warren Austin, FTO—Umatilla Agency, OR: 

FTO assists beneficiary in 12 year effort to correct blood quantum 

A beneficiary had attempted to correct records of her Indian blood quantum with her 

tribe for over 12 years—an issue that is important because tribal membership can be 

based on a person’s Indian blood quantum. Austin coordinated with OST, BIA, and the 

tribe to review historical enrollment and tribal records and determined the beneficiary’s 

correct Indian blood quantum. Original records were found to be in error, and were corrected. The beneficiary’s 12 grandchildren, several of whom had been denied enrollment 

because of their blood quantum, can now reapply for tribal enrollment. 

Jim Folsom, FTO—Fort Duchesne, UT: 

Collaboration helps FTO find beneficiary with over $100,000 in a 

Whereabouts Unknown account. 

Early in the year, Folsom received a list of the trust beneficiaries 

with Individual Indian Money accounts and whose whereabouts 

were unknown. He began asking locals, BIA staff and tribal members if they knew anyone on the list. Locals were able to help him 

identify one beneficiary who had more than $100,000 in an account. The beneficiary was living in a state-run group home. Folsom is now working with local aid agencies to make sure the 

money gets used properly for the beneficiary’s care. “I’m determined to make sure it improves the quality of his life,” Folsom says. 

Department of the Interior 

Office of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians

FTO Karen Whitenton works with a trust beneficiary on 

his account questions and issues. 

FTO Jim Folsom 

Happy Birthday!

The Trust 

Beneficiary Call 

Center turns One 

 

December 3, 2005 

marked the first anniversary of the TBCC, and 

what a year it was: 

Calls answered = 

69,285. 

First Line Resolution = 

90.23%. 

Average Call Time = 

3:21 minutes. 

Staff hours saved for 

other program work = 

3,868. 

Congratulations! 

The Trust Beneficiary 

Call Center; (888) 678-

6836 ext. 0.