T

Department of the Interior • Of

RUST 

fi ce of the Special Trustee for American Indians 

MATTERS

Volume 13/Issue 1 Winter 2013

Table of Contents

Don’t Pay a Fee 

AIRR on “Native Report”

Germany Via Facebook

OST Partners to Provide 

Financial Skills Training

OST Realigns Management

Speaking of the Website

Trust Land Consolidation

E-Notifi cations Increase

It’s free to check online to determine if you have an Individual Indian 

Money (IIM) account that doesn’t have a current mailing address on fi le 

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

needs current addresses of IIM account holders in order to mail periodic 

statements of account and other account information to them.

Don’t pay for information you can access yourself for free. Th ere are 

commercial sites that charge a fee to “search...Whereabouts Unknown 

database and to obtain recovery and claims information....” Th e 

Whereabouts Unknown (WAU) database lists names of IIM account 

holders whose accounts do not have current addresses. Th e WAU list is 

on the OST website and you can go there and look for your name, for 

free.

Go to www.doi.gov/ost. At the bottom of the page, select the link that 

says “Is OST Holding Money for You?” Th at link will take you to the 

WAU database. Look for your name in the list. 

Money in IIM accounts rightfully belongs to account holders. So 

remember, if you see names of people you know on the WAU list, 

please let them know they need to update their contact information.

To update IIM account information, do one of the following:

• Call OST’s Trust Benefi ciary Call Center (TBCC), toll free, 

at 1-888-678-6836

• Contact one of the OST fi eld offi ces, listed on the OST website 

at www.doi.gov/ost/ft o

• Complete the account set up, disbursement of funds, and 

change of address form on the OST website at 

www.doi.gov/ost/individual_benefi ciaries/forms.cfm

If you choose to print the form, be sure to sign it and get it 

witnessed before mailing it to:

Offi ce of the Special Trustee (OST)

Attn: Trust Benefi ciary Call Center

4400 Masthead St., NE

Albuquerque, NM 87109

Help with your account and other Indian trust fund information is free 

too. Call TBCC or contact an OST fi eld offi ce, listed online at 

www.doi.gov/ost/ft o. It’s free!

AIRR Visited by TV Station

Now in its eighth season, Native 

Report , an informative magazinestyle series that celebrates Native 

American culture and heritage, has 

produced an episode that includes 

coverage of the American Indian 

Records Repository (AIRR) in 

Lenexa, Kansas. Native Report is a 

production of WDSE and WRPT, 

PBS stations in Minnesota.

Co-host and co-producer Tadd 

Johnson and the crew toured 

AIRR’s facilities. Coverage includes 

footage of this special underground location and interviews 

with Offi ce of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians (OST) 

personnel who manage AIRR. If 

you missed it on TV, Native Report 

episodes are posted online at 

www.wdse.org/shows/native/

watch. Look for Season 8 Episode 2 

to view the coverage of AIRR.

Don’t Pay a Fee — It’s Free

1

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4

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2 TRUST MATTERS

Whereabouts 

Unknown 

or WAUs are 

IIM accounts 

without current

addresses on 

file with OST

An Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holder, 

all the way from Germany, had a cheery holiday 

season because of an Account Maintenance Technician 

with the Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American 

Indians (OST). Th e technician’s innovative approach to 

locating IIM account holders who do not have current 

address information on fi le led to the happy result.

Accounts without current addresses are referred to as 

Whereabouts Unknown, or WAUs. Every OST fi eld 

offi ce conducts eff orts to locate owners of WAU 

accounts. 

Th e technician had a list of account holders with high 

balances in their WAU accounts. One name had been 

on the list since the account holder’s father had passed 

away. Th e technician set 

a goal of locating this 

account holder before 

Christmas 2012.

Th e technician, who had 

has been using routine

eff orts to locate this 

person, such as mailing 

out letters and doing 

research, decided to try 

outreach via Facebook. 

A search on the account 

holder’s name quickly 

found the Facebook page of a likely person. Th e page 

listed several friends from the tribe of the IIM account 

holder. 

Th e technician contacted one of the friends. Th is local 

man said he was the cousin of the account holder, who 

lived in Germany. He off ered to pass the technician’s 

phone number along and have his cousin call.

Two weeks later, the account holder and the technician 

spoke. Aft er verifying that this was actually the owner 

of the WAU account, the technician told the account 

holder there was more than $30,000 in this WAU 

account. With updated contact information, the 

$30,000 was paid soon aft er, along with a $1,000 

payment as an eligible member of the Historical 

Accounting class of the Cobell Settlement.

Th e technician realized great personal satisfaction! 

And what about the IIM account holder? Well, it was 

an exceptional holiday for that family, thanks to the relentless eff ort expended by one person to help another.

To fi nd a list of all WAU account holder’s names, go 

to the OST website at www/doi.gov/ost. Access the “Is 

OST Holding Money for You?” link at the bottom of 

the homepage to check the WAU database for names 

of people you know.

For more help, contact a local OST fi eld offi ce. Th e 

offi ces are listed on the OST website at www.doi.gov/

ost/ft o. Help is also available from the Trust Benefi -

ciary Call Center (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.

From Germany, Via Facebook

OST Partners to Provide 

Financial Skills Training

Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American 

Indians Fiduciary Trust Offi cer Brian Ross (Osage 

& Eastern Region) was a panel member at the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Alliance 

for Economic Inclusion (AEI) launch conference 

in Tulsa, Okla., October 2012. AIE’s mission is to 

bring all unbanked and underserved populations 

into the fi nancial mainstream.

FTO Ross spoke about fi nancial education for 

benefi ciaries in Osage County, accomplished 

through OST’s partnership with Osage Financial 

Resources, Inc., and the Oklahoma Native Assets 

Coalition. After the presentation, representatives 

from the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development expressed an interest in 

partnering with OST to help promote fi nancial 

empowerment in several Native communities in 

Oklahoma.

Did you know? The American Indian 

Records Repository opened its doors 

May 2004.
VOLUME 13, ISSUE 1 3

The Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American 

Indians (OST) has undergone an internal 

realignment of management responsibilities. Th is 

marks another step forward in OST’s goal to deliver 

effi cient and high quality services to tribes and 

Individual Indian Money account holders. Th e changes, 

eff ective the fi rst quarter of fi scal year 2013, were, 

in part, based on recommendations in last year’s 

Examination, Evaluation, and Recommendation 

Analysis of the Department of the Interior’s Offi ce of the 

Special Trustee for American Indians Study (Effi ciency 

Study), conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.

Michele F. Singer, confi rmed by the Department of 

the Interior’s Executive Resources Board as the 

permanent Principal Deputy Special Trustee (PDST), 

now oversees the following offi ces. Th e list includes 

two new offi ces: Program Management and Business 

Management.

• Chief of Staff Helen Riggs

• Offi ce of Appraisal Services, managed by Eldred 

Lesansee

• Offi ce of Historical Trust Accounting, managed 

by Jason Bruno

• Deputy Special Trustee for Field Operations, 

managed by Jim James

• Deputy Special Trustee for Trust Services, 

managed by Doug Lords

• Deputy Special Trustee for Program Management, 

managed by John White

• Deputy Special Trustee for Business Management, 

managed by Mark Davis

Regional Trust Administrator (RTA)/Region

Th e Fiduciary Trust Offi cers and the fi eld offi ces 

are aligned under fi ve RTAs. Th e RTAs, with their 

specifi ed regional assignments, are listed below. 

Rob Craff /Southern Plains, Eastern Oklahoma, and 

Eastern

Margaret Williams/Navajo and Southwest

Melvin Burch/Great Plains and Alaska

Th omas Reynolds/Rocky Mountain, Midwest, and 

Pacifi c

Catherine Rugen/Northwest and Western

OST’s updated organization chart can be viewed on the 

OST website at www.doi.gov/ost/about_us/upload/1-

22-13websiteorgchrt-2.pdf. Th e regional map can be 

accessed on the OST website at www.doi/gov/ost/ft o.

OST Realigns Management Responsibilities
4 TRUST MATTERS

Electronic Notifi cations Increase

Individual Indian Money benefi ciaries who use direct deposit 

or a debit card have been off ered options to receive deposit 

notifi cations electronically, instead of by regular mail. Th e two 

new options are email or text message e-notifi cations. In the 

fi rst quarter of fi scal year 2013 (October-December 2012), 

electronic notifi cations increased. During that same period, 

notifi cations sent by regular mail declined over 80 percent.

 Email Text Message Total

 Oct. 2012 2,494 2,880 5,374

 Nov. 2012 3,482 3,413 6,895

 Dec. 2012 3,500 3,961 7,461

 Qrt1 totals 9,476 10,254 19,730

E-notifi cations benefi t benefi ciaries by being timely, safe, and 

convenient. Th ey also result in printing and postage administrative cost savings. It’s a win-win. 

Trust Land Consolidation 

and the Buy-Back Program

Offi cials and staff from the Department 

of the Interior, including the Offi ce of the 

Assistant Secretary-Indian Aff airs, the 

Bureau of Indian Aff airs, and the Offi ce of 

the Special Trustee for American Indians 

(OST), recently held consultations with tribes 

regarding the Land Buy-Back Program for 

Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program). The land 

buy-back eff ort is part of the Cobell Settlement, fi nalized on November 24, 2012. The 

settlement established a $1.9 billion fund for 

the voluntary buy back and consolidation of 

fractionated land interests. 

Regional consultations took place January 31 

in Minneapolis, Minn.; February 6 in Rapid 

City, S.D.; and February 14 in Seattle, Wash. 

The Department is seeking input from tribes 

and individuals in order to proceed with the 

Buy-Back Program as quickly as possible. 

Land purchases through the program must 

be completed within ten years.

At this time, OST’s involvement is threepronged: 

Determining fair market value for fraction

 ated tracts through the Offi ce of Appraisal 

 Services

Developing the capability of the Trust 

 Benefi ciary Call Center (TBCC) to answer 

 questions about the Buy-Back Program as 

 well as document individuals’ willingness 

 to participate in the program

Serving as local points of contact to provide 

 information to tribes and willing sellers

 about the program through Fiduciary Trust 

 Offi cers and fi eld staff

For details and updates about the Buy-Back 

Program, please see the Initial Implementation Plan and other information available at 

www.doi.gov/buybackprogram. Questions 

should be directed to Anthony Walters at 

202-513-0897 or Anthony.Walters@bia.gov, 

or to the TBCC, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836. 

The TBCC hours are Monday through Friday 

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

Mountain time.

Speaking of the 

OST Website...

Th e Offi ce of the Special 

Trustee for American Indians 

(OST) website was migrated 

in October 2012 to the 

Department of the Interior 

website. Th e website address 

is www.doi.gov/ost.

While the offi cial website 

address has not changed, an 

alternate address circulated 

years ago: www.ost.doi.gov. 

If users access www.ost.doi.

gov, they will be automatically 

redirected to www.doi.gov/

ost.

However, the Department 

was not able to create forwarding links to the OST 

homepage from all pages of 

the old website. Users who 

bookmarked pages using 

www.ost.doi.gov/[anything] 

will encounter broken links. 

Users who encounter broken 

links need to create new 

bookmarks to their favorite 

OST website pages. 

If users encounter broken 

links, they can:

1) Go to www.doi.gov/ost 

and create new bookmarks.

2) Search "Offi ce of the 

Special Trustee" or some 

variation, in their favorite 

search engine and click on 

the link returned, which 

will be www.doi.gov/ost, 

and bookmark their favorite 

pages.

OST has created the following 

shortcut web addresses that 

allow users to enter simplifi ed 

text to access pages. 

www.doi.gov/ost/audit

www.doi.gov/ost/wau

www.doi.gov/ost/ft o

Bottom line: OST’s website 

address is www.doi.gov/ost.