Department of the Interior

Offi ce of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians

Volume 11, Issue 1

Winter 2011

TRUST MATTERS

 Table of Contents

Ray Joseph 1 

Social Media 1

Your Land Tracts 2

Merger Saves Money 2

Revised Tribal Shares 3

Beautiful Collection 4

OST Scores High 4

Ray Joseph Joins OST 

as the Principal Deputy Special Trustee

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced on January 5, 2011, 

that Ray Joseph will serve as Principal Deputy Special Trustee (PDST) 

for the Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) at 

the U.S. Department of the Interior. Joseph will oversee the fi nancial 

management of Indian funds held in trust by the federal government.

“I am pleased to a part of the OST team with employees who are 

proud of changes that already have been made to the accountability 

and management of the Indian trust, and who are passionate about the 

work they continue to do,” said Joseph.

Prior to accepting the position with OST, Joseph served as the Acting 

Chief Investment Offi cer for New Jersey’s Treasury Department, 

where he oversaw the state’s $85 billion pension plan. Preceding that 

employment, Joseph held various treasury and investment roles for 

nearly 17 years.

Since accepting the position, the new PDST has taken several 

opportunities to become acquainted with staff and meet tribal leaders. 

On a recent visit to OST’s Albuquerque offi ce, he had the opportunity 

to confer with a representative from the InterTribal Monitoring 

Association. Joseph was honored to dialog with board members in 

February at the United South and 

Eastern Tribes 2011 Impact Week 

meeting in Virginia. He is planning 

several trips around Indian 

country this year to personally see 

fi eld operations in action, while 

also meeting tribal leaders and 

members.

Joseph noted that, in coordination 

with Secretary Salazar’s guidance, 

OST will focus on aligning its 

activities with other bureaus and offi ces in the Department in order 

to fulfi ll directives outlined in the American Indian Trust Fund 

Management Reform Act of 1994.

Note: The Department of the Interior’s Offi ce of Inspector General (OIG) performs audits, evaluations and investigations of 

the Department’s programs and operations. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct or mismanagement 

involving the Department, call the OIG complaint hotline: 1-800-424-5081, or visit the website: www.doioig.gov.

Social Media and OST

Social media, such as 

Facebook and Twitter, are 

popular ways of communicating online. The Department of the Interior has set 

up social media sites for its 

bureaus and for Secretary 

Salazar. Access these site at

www.doi.gov.

OST is working on social 

media applications to 

enhance communications 

between Fiduciary Trust 

Offi cers and benefi ciaries. 

Information about these 

sites will be available this 

summer.
2 TRUST MATTERS

A benefi ciary in Montana asked her Fiduciary Trust 

Offi cer (FTO) to help determine if all surface and 

subsurface tracts she owned were leased. Th ey carefully 

went over the benefi ciary’s Land Owner Income Report 

and identifi ed the subsurface tracts that were not leased. 

Several oil and gas companies were competing to lease 

mineral interests in the area. Th erefore, the benefi ciary 

proactively followed up with the companies in an 

eff ort to make her tract ownership interests as 

productive as possible. 

If you receive a Land Owner Income Report and need 

help reviewing it, contact your FTO. To locate your 

FTO online, go to www.doi.gov/ost/ft o and select your 

location on the map. You may also contact the Trust 

Benefi ciary Call Center, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836 to 

obtain your FTO’s phone number and email.

Achieving effi ciencies and fi nding administrative savings by collaborating 

within Interior and with other agencies is a major initiative of Secretary 

of the Interior Ken Salazar. Th e Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American 

Indians (OST) is doing its part by looking within the organization for 

opportunities to realign and optimize savings. To that end, the Offi ce 

of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) will merge with OST to take 

advantage of numerous effi ciencies 

that will be realized by this change. 

Over the next several months, OHTA’s 

Acting Executive Director will work 

with OST and OHTA employees to 

eff ect systemic changes. As with any 

merger, redundant functions have 

been identifi ed, the elimination of 

which will achieve administrative 

savings and more eff ective operation. 

Th e result will be improved 

functionality at a lower cost.

Th is is just one example of how OST 

is participating in Secretary Salazar’s 

proactive vision to cut waste, achieve 

effi ciencies and fi nd administrative 

savings.

Merger Saves Money and Enhances Effi ciency

What’s Happening on Your Land Tracts?

Workload-based Tribal Share

= (Regional Budget - Residual) 

x (Tribal Workload ÷ Regional 

Workload)

Regional Budget is determined annually based on 

workload and, therefore, is 

the amount of funding available per region. Note that the 

regional budget is determined 

using workload as the core 

element in the determination, 

in the same manner as an 

individual tribe's "tribal share" 

will be determined. The difference is that when a regional 

budget is determined, the 

residual remains with the 

region for the purposes of 

performing inherently federal 

functions, such as reviewing 

and approving appraisal 

reports. 

The Residual equals 

20 percent of a regional 

budget allocation.
VOLUME 11, ISSUE 1 3

The Office of the Special Trustee for American 

Indians (OST) announced on June 3, 2009, a project to revise how funding shares are calculated 

and allocated to tribes who contract or compact 

the appraisal program, pursuant to P.L. 93-638, 

the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

Assistance Act of 1975, as amended [25 U.S.C. 

§450j-1(a)], hereafter “638”. The goal of the 

project was to devise revised tribal shares formulas that would ensure uniformity and transparency in determining: 1) tribal shares and 2) 

funding residual for inherent federal functions. 

Tribal shares calculated in 1995 have neither 

changed nor been recalculated.

A series of tribal consultations was held 

throughout the country June through August 

2009. On August 31 and September 1, 2010, a 

tribal-federal workgroup met in Minneapolis, 

Minnesota, to develop recommendations upon 

which OST’s senior management could base a 

federal decision. The tribal-federal workgroup 

made the following eight-part recommendation: 

1. A 20 percent federal residual is reasonable 

and 

supportable. 

2. The tribal share formula will be workloadbased. 

3. Workload will be calculated annually based 

on the number of appraisal requests aveaged 

over a five-year period and will include the 

following: 

 a. Appraisal requests completed 

 (and transmitted to the client) in the 

 previous four fiscal years; plus, 

 b. Appraisal requests completed 

 (and transmitted to the client) in the 

 current year; plus, 

 c. Appraisal requests pending (including 

 past due) for the current year. (This 

 should also include valid but unfunded 

 appraisal requests from contract or 

 compact tribes and consortiums, as 

 reported to OAS.)

4. If the majority of the workload becomes 

contracted or compacted in a region, the 

residual will be revisited, subject to tribal 

consultation within that region. 

5. When calculating workload, no special 

project appraisal requests will be included. 

6. Current compact tribes’ funding (received 

from the Office of Self Governance or OST for 

the appraisal function) will not be adversely 

affected by the new appraisal tribal share 

reformulation effort. However, compacting 

tribes now receiving funding from either 

source may be supplemented by OST funds, 

if such an increase is warranted based on the 

new formula. 

7. No current contracting tribes will incur a 

decrease in funding for FY2011, even if the 

new formula indicates a decrease in a tribe’s 

tribal share for FY2011. However, in FY20l2, 

current contracting tribes will incur a 

reduction in funding, if warranted, based on 

the new formula. This approach in FY2011 

will provide affected tribes currently contracting with OST an opportunity to adjust to 

the new formula. 

8. If a tribe or OAS requests a residual other 

than 20 percent, a written justification/support will be required to initiate a negotiation 

to change the residual as appropriate. 

As defined in 25 CFR Part 1000.94: “BIA residual 

funds are the funds necessary to carry out BIA 

residual functions. BIA residual functions are 

those functions that only BIA employees’ could 

perform if all tribes were to assume responsibilities for all BIA programs that the Act permits.” 

Consistent with this definition, inherently federal 

functions related to the appraisal program 

include, but are not limited to: 

• Outreach and consulting 

• Review and approval 

Tribes that will receive increased funding, as a 

result of the implementation of the new formula 

this fiscal year, will receive their increased 

funding as soon as more is known about the 

OAS FY2011 budget allocation. 

If you have any questions about the process or 

the revised formula, please contact Office of 

Appraisal Services Director, Eldred F. Lesansee, 

at 505-816-1602.

Revised Tribal Shares Formulas
4 TRUST MATTERS

Paintings, pottery, craft s, and even drums — many works of art made 

by American Indian artisans are in the care of the Offi ce of the Special 

Trustee for American Indians (OST). Th ese items honor governmentto-government relationships with Indian tribes. Th e artwork pictured with 

this article is representative of the quality, beauty and character of OST’s 

collection.

“Th e superb items in our collection represent many tribes,” said Principal 

Deputy Special Trustee Ray Joseph. “Visitors are delighted when they see 

these works of art, just as I was when I encountered objects on display in 

our Albuquerque offi ce.”

OST’s holdings of art and artifacts started with 12 items that were 

transferred from the Bureau of Indian Aff airs. Th rough donations and 

gift s, the collection has grown to the current 115 items.

Th e objective of OST’s Property Management staff , who account for all 

of the pieces, is to identify, preserve and interpret museum objects that 

are exhibited at fi ve OST offi ces: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sacramento, 

California; Palm Springs, California; Billings, Montana and Rapid 

City, South Dakota. For more information, contact Senior Property 

Management Offi cer David Pradt: 505-816-1084 (desk)/505-816-1288 

(fax)/david_pradt@ost.doi.gov.

Below left: Vase

Artist - Edward Chiwewe

Tribal Affi liation - Isleta Pueblo

Material - Ceramic pottery

Below right: Covered Basket

Artist Name - Darlene Robinson

Tribal Affi liation - Coushatta Tribe

Material - Pine needles 

Right: Belt Buckle

Artist - Unknown

Tribal Affi liation - Fort Peck 

Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes

Material - Beads

Below: Drum and Beater

Artist -Unknown

Tribal Affi liation - Taos Pueblo

Material - wood and cow hide

OST Scores High on 

NARA’s 2010 Report

The Office of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians (OST) scored 98 out 

of 100 points on the National Archives 

and Records Administration (NARA) 

2010 Records Management Self-Assessment Report. NARA published the 

report on February 22, 2011 (http://

www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/pdf/

rm-self-assessmemt.pdf). The report 

summarizes the state of records management among 251 federal agencies. 

OST’s high score relates to a low-risk 

environment for records. The report 

categorized agencies as low, medium 

or high-risk for adherence to federal 

records management regulations and 

policies.

Eight offices and bureaus within the 

Department of the Interior came in 

with some of the highest ratings, ranging from 91 to 98 points. Among these, 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs scored 96. 

These excellent scores demonstrate that 

Department of the Interior bureaus and 

offices are working diligently to fulfill 

the governments trust obligation to 

Native Americans.

For more information about OST’s 

records management, please contact 

the Office of Trust Records at 

505-816-1625 or email Michelle 

Tenorio at michelle_tenorio@ost.doi.

A Beautiful Collection of Art and Artifacts