Inside this issue:

Appraisal Consolidation Update2

Indian Records Facility2

“To-Be” Model Nears 

Completion

2

Regional Trust Administrators Named2

FY 2005 OST Budget 

Request 

3

Concho IIM Accountholder Meetings

ITMA Conferences

3

3

Advisory Board 

Membership

4

a request. Changes made by 

telephone will be accepted 

once the identity of the account holder is verified.

This policy change is in response to beneficiary feedback to improve services to 

account holders.

I

n order to provide better service to Individual Indian Money (IIM) 

account holders, OST no 

longer requires a signature to be notarized or 

witnessed by a Department of the Interior employee when making 

changes to an address or 

disbursement instructions 

for unsupervised accounts. 

Now, account holders may 

either (1) notify OST in 

writing of the new address 

and include the signature of 

one other adult as a witness 

or (2) call OST toll free at 

1-888-678-6836 ext. 888 

(1-888-OST-OTFM) to make 

On March 18-19, 

2004, the first meeting of the 2004-2006 Special Trustee Advisory 

Board was held in Washington, D.C. Secretary of 

the Interior Gale 

Norton 

was present at 

the meeting to 

congratulate the 

new 

members 

on their 

selection 

to the 

board, 

and to 

welcome 

the members to their new positions

within the federal Indian

trust reform arena. At 

the meeting, the new 

board membership was 

provided an overview of 

the current status of trust 

reform efforts underway 

within the Department. 

The members also had the 

opportunity to discuss 

and prioritize issues for 

consideration during this 

Board’s term. The next 

meeting of the board is 

scheduled for June 2004 

in Montana.

The new membership of 

the Board was announced 

on February 5, 2004. The 

diverse membership, as 

directed by federal law, 

includes representatives 

of Tribal account holders, 

individual Indian money 

account holders and private management and 

investment 

sectors. The 

nine members of the 

board and 

their affiliations are 

listed on the 

back of this 

newsletter. 

The Advisory 

Board was 

created 

through the 

American 

Indian Trust 

Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 

to provide advice to the 

Special Trustee on all 

matters within his jurisdiction. Members serve a 

two year term.

Trust Matters

New Advisory Board Convenes

Special points of interest:

• FY 2005 OST Budget and 

the 17th Quarterly Report 

are posted on the web at 

www.ost.doi.gov

• Contact the Intertribal 

Monitoring Association at 

(505) 247-1447 for information on future trust 

reform listening conferences 

Department of the 

Interior — Office of 

the Special Trustee 

for American Indians

April 2004

Volume 3, Issue 2

New Policy for Address and Disbursement Changes 

Advisory Board Members, left to right: Helen Sanders, Chief Gray, Governor 

Anoatubby, Special Trustee Ross Swimmer, Chairman Milanovich, Secretary Norton, Ed Holland, Chairman Matt, Bobby Brooks, Bat Pourier. Photo by Rosa Wilson.
same information was sent to every 

Tribe on a CD-Rom and has been 

posted on the OST website at 

www.ost.doi.gov

In response to Tribal requests, the 

timeframe for the review and comment 

on the draft “To-Be” Model was extended to March 31, 2004. All comments received by that date are being 

considered for inclusion in or modification to the draft model. 

After addressing all comments received, OST expects the final “To-Be” 

Model to be completed by May 31, 2004. 

C

onstruction in Lenexa, KS, for an 

archival-quality underground storage facility for the consolidation and 

storage of all inactive Indian affairs 

records has been completed, and records currently are being relocated to 

this new facility. To date, approximately 20,000 boxes of trust and nontrust Indian affairs records have been 

moved from the Lee’s Summit Federal 

Records Center in Kansas City, MO, 

and the Office of Trust Records in Albuquerque, NM, to the new American Indian Records Repository. This facility 

has the storage capacity to house up 

to 250,000 boxes of existing Indian 

affairs records in one central location, 

benefiting federal and tribal employees, 

beneficiaries, researchers, and the general public. Previously these records 

were stored in several federal records 

centers. Plans for a grand opening 

ceremony are under development.

The full implementation of the final 

“To-Be” model will take several years to 

complete and will require the development of new policies and procedures, 

training, staffing, and other support 

functions. The implementation plan for 

the final “To-Be” model is expected to 

be completed by June 30, 2004. When 

completed, these documents will be 

posted on the OST web site at 

www.ost.doi.gov 

F

rom November 2003 to January 

2004, the OST and BIA conducted 

a series of informational meetings to 

discuss the draft “To-Be” Trust Business Model with interested stakeholders. The meetings were attended 

by an average of 150 individuals representing tribal and DOI employees, 

tribal and individual account holders, 

subject matter experts and others. The 

meetings were intended to provide attendees with an opportunity to review 

and comment on the draft model. 

A formal presentation of the draft 

model was made at each meeting. This 

On March 31, 2004, Special Trustee 

Ross Swimmer announced that 

OST will enter into an agreement with 

the Department’s National Business 

Center (NBC) Appraisal Group for the 

management of Indian land appraisals 

performed by the OST Office of Appraisal Services (OAS). This important 

move will strengthen the Indian land 

appraisal program.

Under the agreement, the OAS Director will report to the Department’s 

Chief Appraiser. OST will retain control of the appraisal budget, and tribes 

will still have the ability to contract 

and compact with OST for the appraisal function. Indian preference in 

hiring for appraiser positions will continue. This agreement accommodates 

concerns raised during tribal consultations held last fall on OST’s participation in the Department’s appraisal consolidation initiative and from comments submitted to OST. 

The Special Trustee noted that this 

agreement will improve the management of the appraisal function, while 

addressing concerns voiced by tribal 

leaders on issues such as Indian preference and continued opportunities for 

tribes to contract and compact for the 

program. Allowing OAS to contract for 

management services from NBC should 

enhance the integrity of the appraisals 

performed on Indian lands. 

OST Appraisals to be Managed by 

Department’s National Business Center 

Indian Records Facility Constructed

“To-Be” Model Nearly Complete 

Page 2 Trust Matters

Regional Trust Administrators Named

Five of the six Regional Trust 

Administrator (RTA) positions 

have been permanently filled. 

The other positions are still under recruitment. 

Centrally located in Albuquerque, NM, the RTAs will work 

closely with BIA Regional Directors. They will oversee the OST 

Fiduciary Trust Officers and 

their staff, and trust activities 

nationwide. 

The current RTAs and the BIA 

regions they represent are:

Melvin Burch—Southern Plains/ 

Southwest Regions

Jim James—Great Plains / Eastern Regions

Vacant— Navajo / Western Regions

Tom Reynolds— Northwest / 

Alaska Regions 

Vicki McCoy—Eastern Oklahoma / Pacific Regions

Robert Upton—Rocky Mountain / 

Midwest Regions 
The request includes a total of $21.7 

million, an increase of $1.6 million, for 

BIA and OST records administration, 

management, storage and accessibility, 

and to meet document production and 

related litigation costs. 

Without the inclusion of funds for BIA

for land consolidation, OHTA for historical accounting, and funding provided 

to other offices, the budget request for 

OST programs and functions is $108.3

million, a reduction from the FY 2004

enacted level of $111.9 million. 

The President’s FY 2005 request for 

OST is $322.7 million, an increase 

of $113.6 million, or 54 percent, above 

the FY 2004 budget level. The $113.6 

million increase is for use by BIA and 

other Interior offices to significantly 

expand Indian land consolidation 

efforts and to continue historical 

accounting activities for tribal and individual Indian accounts. 

The OST budget request includes $75 

million for the BIA Indian land consolidation efforts, an increase of 245 percent over the FY 2004 level. This increase will be used to expand the localized Indian Land Consolidation effort 

to a nationwide program, restoring 

economic viability to trust assets and 

reducing the administrative burden on 

the government of managing these 

small accounts.

The FY 2005 request for the Office of 

Historical Trust Accounting is $109.4 

million, an increase of $65 million over 

the FY 2004 level. This increase will 

provide additional resources to conduct 

historical accounting activities in accordance with Interior’s five-year historical accounting plan. These funds will 

provide for a reconciliation of judgment 

accounts, per capita accounts and per 

capita transactions in land-based accounts. It also will provide funding to 

conduct historical accountings for 

tribes, administer settlements and present tribal briefings, as requested.

T

he first in a series of several 

“Listening Conferences” was held 

by the Intertribal Monitoring Association on Indian Trust Funds (ITMA) on 

April 2-3, 2004. The conference was 

hosted by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation 

in Okmulgee, OK, and was scheduled 

to discuss tribal and individual trust

funds and assets issues.

The conference provided an opportunity 

for tribal leaders, council members, and

individual and tribal landowners to 

raise concerns with the management of 

their trust assets, pose questions and 

develop recommendations for change. 

Special Trustee Ross Swimmer and 

Principal Deputy Special Trustee 

Donna Erwin attended the first session 

and were available to answer questions 

and explore some of the concerns raised 

by those providing testimonials.

ITMA will schedule four more Listening Conferences at different locations 

across the nation to hear from as many 

interested parties as possible. For 

more information on future Listening 

Conferences, contact ITMA at 505-247-

1447.

During the month of March, the 

OST and BIA trust personnel at 

the Concho Agency (OK) held a series 

of community meetings to introduce 

themselves to IIM accountholders 

served by the Agency office. These 

meetings were an important opportunity for Indian trust beneficiaries to 

meet and become better acquainted 

with OST Trust Officer Henry Ware 

and BIA Deputy Agency Superintendent for Trust Scott McCorkle, who 

explained their roles and the services 

they provide to the beneficiaries. The 

OST Regional Trust Administrator 

Melvin Burch and Concho Agency Superintendent Galilia Johnson also attended to answer questions and meet 

the beneficiaries. 

The meetings were the first in a succession of outreach meetings to provide 

beneficiaries with an opportunity to 

meet DOI trust personnel on a face-toface basis. Attendees were provided 

with information about trust services, 

as well as the opportunity to have their 

financial and resource management 

questions answered and to get to know 

these trust employees. In the near 

future, similar meetings will be scheduled with the Tribes. 

Mr. Ware informed beneficiaries that 

he would like to be the person that they 

call with 

their 

questions. 

As illustrated by 

these 

meetings, 

these 

questions 

may range from account management 

inquiries, to probate, oil, and gas revenue, and trespass issues. Mr. Ware 

will work cooperatively with Mr. 

McCorkle to provide answers to beneficiary questions in a timely manner. 

These meetings demonstrate that providing beneficiaries with information 

on a face-to-face basis is an effective 

method for conveying the cooperative 

spirit and collective knowledge of the 

DOI staff. 

Handouts including contact information for OST and BIA staff, general 

information on IIM accounts, explanations of the functions of the Trust Officer and Deputy Superintendent for 

Trust, and proposed distributions were 

provided to all attendees.

Mr. Ware is located at the Concho 

Agency Office in El Reno, OK, and may 

be reached, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836 

(enter code 801) or at 1-405-262-4859 

FY 2005 Budget Requests Additional Funds for Trust Initiatives 

ITMA Schedules 

Listening Conferences 

Informational Meetings Held for Concho Trust 

Accountholders

Volume 3, Issue 2 Page 3

Concho Agency Trust Officer Henry Ware
of the Flathead Reservation in Montana;

Honorable Richard Milanovich, 

Chairman of the Agua Caliente Band 

of Cahuilla Indians in California;

Mr. Loren “Bat” Pourier, Owner, 

Muddy Creek Oil and Gas, Inc.;

Ms. Helen Sanders, Chairman, Allotees 

Association and Affiliated Tribes of the 

Quinault Reservation.

OST Advisory Board Membership

T

he nine new members of the Special Trustee Advisory Board were 

selected for their geographic diversity, 

their experience and background, and 

for conformity with the requirements of 

the 1994 Reform Act. The 2004-2006 

membership is:

Honorable Bill Anoatubby, Governor of 

the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma;

Mr. Bobby Brooks, Vice President and 

Trust Officer, Bank of Oklahoma;

Professor David English, Fratcher 

Missouri Endowed Professor of Law, 

University of Missouri-Columbia;

Honorable Jim Gray, Chief of the 

Osage Nation in Oklahoma; 

Mr. Edward Holland, President and 

CEO, Chota Capital Company, LLC;

Honorable Fred Matt, Chairman of the 

Confederated Tribes of Salish-Kootenai 

If your tribe would like 

information on contracting or 

compacting opportunities or on 

how to withdraw its trust funds 

from federal management 

pursuant to the 1994 American 

Indian Trust Fund Management 

Reform Act, please call the 

Office of External Affairs at 505-

816-1048

OST is hiring Fiduciary 

Trust Officers 

nationwide. Check 

www.ost.doi.gov or 

www.usajobs.com for 

current postings.

Department of the Interior

1849 C Street, NW, Suite 5140

Washington, DC 20240

Phone: 202-208-4866

Fax: 202-208-7545

Department of the Interior —

Office of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians