Inside this issue:

Secretary Norton 

Visits OST

2

New Trust Systems 

and Projects Position 

2

Court Monitor Releases Trust Reports2

Trust Reform Secretarial Orders Issued3

OST Manager 

Receives Award

3

Congressional Staff 

Review TAAMS

3

Charter for Trust 

Reform

4

jects outlined in the Department’s trust reform 

roadmap document, the 

High Level Implementation Plan, and the work 

underway to correct the 

areas in which the U.S. 

District Court for the 

District of Columbia 

found the Department in 

(continued on page 3)

T

he Office of the 

Special Trustee for 

American Indians (OST) 

has contracted with Electronic Data Systems 

(EDS), an independent 

consulting firm, to review the overall progress 

and coordination of the 

Department’s trust reform efforts. This review 

will provide objective 

information and guidance to the Department 

on future tasks necessary 

to successfully achieve 

the planned Indian trust 

reforms. 

EDS is reviewing and 

analyzing the status and 

coordination of the proA

s a demonstration of 

a renewed commitment to the success of 

trust reform among the 

Department of the Interior trust asset managers, 

a new Charter for Trust 

Reform was signed at a 

two-day meeting in 

Albuquerque. Special 

Trustee Tom Slonaker 

and Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs 

Neal McCaleb attended 

the session and were the 

first signators to the 

Charter. 

The meeting, held on 

October 2-3, 2001, was 

attended by representatives of all the trust 

reform projects currently 

underway within the 

Department. 

The meeting attendees 

Increasingly, progress 

made in one subproject 

impacts the progress in 

another, or delays in one 

project can delay the 

progress of another. Acknowledgement of these 

interdependencies, as 

well as a sustained cooperative spirit among DOI 

bureaus and personnel 

and a commitment to the 

long-term success of trust 

reform, will be necessary 

to see these projects to 

their conclusions.

Trust Matters 

New Trust Reform Charter Signed

by DOI Leadership and Project Managers

Special points of interest:

• The 7th Quarterly Report 

is available on the OST 

web site at 

www.ost.doi.gov

Department of 

the Interior —

Office of the 

Special Trustee 

for American 

Indians

October 2001

Volume 2, Issue 1

EDS Reviewing Trust Reform Projects

focused 

their discussions 

on the 

current 

status, 

goals and 

objectives of 

trust 

reform. 

Subproject managers 

also provided information on the current 

challenges they face in 

accomplishing future 

program milestones as 

well as the lessons 

they’ve learned in the 

process of implementing 

the projects to date. 

One theme of discussion 

was the interdependent 

nature among and 

between the different 

trust reform projects. 

READ THE TRUST 

REFORM CHARTER 

PRINTED ON THE 

BACK OF THIS 

NEWSLETTER 

Neal McCaleb (left) watches as Tom Slonaker signs the Charter. 

Sharon Blackwell, Tom Thompson and Jim Cason also look on.
S

pecial Trustee Tom Slonaker has 

tapped Donna Erwin, previously 

Director of the Office of Trust Funds 

Management, to be the Deputy Special 

Trustee for Trust Systems and 

Projects, a newly created position. 

In her new role, Ms. Erwin will provide a more central and coordinated 

focus for the various trust reform projects and program managers within the 

Department. And as many trust reform 

projects become increasingly interdependent, the sharing of information 

among project management, including 

project progress, status, test results 

and lessons learned, has become increasingly important. Ms. Erwin will 

provide the needed oversight and 

synchronization between and among 

the trust reform projects underway and 

will work to strengthen project 

management capabilities. Ms. Erwin 

will report to the Special Trustee.

 

In addition, Ms. Erwin will be responsible for the management of the EDS 

review of the overall progress of the 

Department’s trust reform projects to 

date. This review will focus on the 

TAAMS and BIA data cleanup 

projects, as well as the coordination 

between the other trust reform activities.

New Position for Trust Systems and Projects 

Created in OST

OST staff in Albuquerque, New 

Mexico, welcomed Secretary 

Norton and Assistant Secretary - Indian 

Affairs Neal McCaleb to their offices on 

August 10, 2001, to discuss the trust reform efforts currently underway, and the 

Department’s commitment to the 

challenges ahead. 

After providing warm greetings to the 

assembled OST staff from the Office of 

Trust Funds Management (OTFM), 

Office of Trust Records (OTR) and Office 

of Trust Risk Management, the Secretary 

offered her 

appreciation and 

recognition to 

the commitment 

of the OST staff 

for their role in 

the progress of 

the trust fund 

and record management reforms 

already implemented. 

The Secretary 

also reaffirmed 

her personal commitment toward the continued implementation of the trust reform 

efforts underway. 

Following her address, the Secretary and 

Assistant Secretary received a hands-on 

demonstration of the Trust Funds 

Accounting System (TFAS), and a presentation of the complete trust asset management business cycle. This presentation tracked the steps and processes DOI 

bureaus and offices follow to administer 

the land and financial trust assets. In 

addition, a tour of the OTFM trust fund 

accounting operation was provided so 

that the Secretary and Assistant Secretary could observe the accounting process 

by which funds are deposited into and 

disbursed from beneficiaries’ accounts.

An afternoon 

discussion of the 

Indian trust 

records management program and 

a tour of the OTR 

Renaissance Indian trust records 

facility followed. 

This provided the 

guests an opportunity to better 

appreciate the 

vast quantities of 

individual trust records stored at this central facility. 

The Secretary and Assistant Secretary 

concluded their visit to OST offices after 

personally meeting the OST staff. 

Secretary Norton Visits OST 

Page 2 Trust Matters 

Court Monitor Releases 

Reports Critical of DOI 

Trust Reform Efforts 

I

n April 2001, Judge Royce Lamberth of 

the U.S. District Court for the District of 

Columbia appointed Mr. Joseph Kieffer to 

serve as a Court Monitor to review the 

Department’s trust reform activities. To date, 

the Court Monitor has filed four written 

reports with the Court which have been 

critical of various components of the 

Department’s trust activities.

In each report, the Court Monitor has 

expressed his strong concerns that the 

Department has not adequately addressed its 

trust responsibilities in certain areas. In three 

of the reports issued to date, the Court Monitor has recognized the contribution of the 

career civil servants within the Department to 

the trust reform efforts. The Monitor has 

characterized these trust personnel as the 

“ultimate source of successful trust reform if 

they receive the leadership and resources 

they need and deserve.” 

The first report of the Court Monitor was 

filed on July 11, 2001 and focused on the 

Department’s progress in providing an 

accurate, historical accounting to Individual 

Indian account holders of their funds held in 

trust. 

The second report was provided to the Court 

on August 9, 2001, and centered on the 

progress of the creation, deployment and 

implementation of the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs’ (BIA) Trust Asset and Accounting 

Management System, known as TAAMS. 

On September 17, 2001, the Court Monitor 

filed his third report, which examined the 

BIA’s progress on the review, correction and 

cleanup of the data it manages relating to the 

trust assets. 

The fourth report was filed on October 16, 

2001 and reviews the DOI Seventh Quarterly 

Report to the Court with respect to the BIA 

Data Cleanup project, and the process by 

which that Quarterly Report was verified 

prior to being filed with the Court. 

As provided in the order establishing the 

Court Monitor, the Department may provide 

comments to the Court on each of these 

reports. If you are interested in obtaining 

copies of these documents, please go to the 

OST web site at www.ost.doi.gov or contact 

OST at (202) 208-4866.

Margaret Williams, Acting Director of OTFM (left), leads Secretary 

Norton and Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb on a tour
The EDS assessment will provide information to OST, BIA and the Department that can be utilized in planning for 

future trust projects as well as subsequent phases of TAAMS implementation and deployment.

On July 10, 2001, Secretary Norton issued two new Secretarial 

Orders relating to trust reform. These 

Orders were developed to set up a new 

Office of Historical Trust Accounting 

within the Department, and to improve 

the overall coordination, accountability and efficiency among the Department’s Indian trust reform activities. 

The first Secretarial Order (Number 

3231) creates a new Office of Historical Trust Accounting under the Office 

of the Secretary. This office will oversee the planning and implementation 

of the historical accounting of Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts. The 

Office has developed a “Blueprint” 

document describing how it will 

prepare a Comprehensive Plan for the 

development and implementation of a 

valid, timely and cost-effective assessment of balances for IIM account 

holders. 

 

The second Secretarial Order (Number 

3232), provides additional authority to 

the Special Trustee to ensure his 

capacity to implement the Department’s trust reform projects currently 

underway and in the future. 

Both of these Secretarial Orders are 

posted on the OST web site at www.

ost.doi.gov.

breach of its trust responsibilities to 

American Indian trust beneficiaries. 

This review of trust programs is in 

accordance with Secretary Norton’s 

memorandum that accompanied the 

recently-issued Secretarial Orders 

providing additional authority to the 

Special Trustee and creating the Office 

of Historical Trust Accounting. 

As part of its comprehensive review, 

EDS will provide specific attention to 

both the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ 

Trust Asset and Accounting Management System, or TAAMS, and the 

underlying data that will be used in the 

TAAMS system. This review will 

include an examination of the TAAMS 

development and testing activities, the 

data clean up activities underway and 

planned for the future, and a comparison of TAAMS capabilities with 

industry standards in light of applicable court decisions and public laws. 

On August 29, 2001, staff members from the U.S. Senate and 

House of Representatives heard from 

trust employees at the Rocky Mountain Regional Office on the progress, 

capabilities, current status and challenges faced by the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs’ in its implementation of the 

Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS). 

The status of the development of the 

TAAMS system is the subject of a 

critical report issued by the Court 

Monitor assigned to the Department of 

the Interior in the Cobell v. Norton lawsuit. The project also is being independently examined by EDS as part of 

its evaluation of the Department’s trust 

reform projects. Congressional staff 

from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the House Committee on Resources sought to discuss the status of 

TAAMS with local users and project 

management to gain additional information with which to assess the project.

A full day of meetings in Billings, MT, 

was planned to include briefings on the 

various components of the TAAMS 

New Secretarial Orders Issued

EDS Review of Trust Programs (continued from front)

Congressional Staff Travel to Billings to Review TAAMS

Volume 2, Issue 1 Page 3

project. Discussions centered around 

how the land title and realty information has been maintained by the BIA in 

the past, the goals of TAAMS, the 

process by which TAAMS has been 

developed, and future challenges in the 

implementation of the system. 

When implemented, TAAMS is expected to replace existing systems to 

track information related to the lease, 

billing and accounts receivable, collection and land title of Indian trust assets. 

OST Manager Receives 

Presidential Award

Thomas Thompson, Principal Deputy 

Special Trustee for American Indians, 

received the Presidential Rank Award 

for Distinguished Executives on 

October 15, 2001. Each year, a small 

number of Senior Executives within 

the federal government are recognized 

to receive this award. 

At a ceremony led by President George 

W. Bush, the awardees were thanked 

for their superior commitment to 

public service. Mr. Thompson 

received this award specifically for his 

efforts in support of trust reform. 

Trust Foundations 2 classes 

are now offered. Call toll free 

1-866–427-9053 to register.
Department of the Interior, OST

18th and C Street, NW

Room 5140

Washington, DC 20240

Phone: 202-208-4866

Fax: 202-208-7545

Web Site: www.ost.doi.gov

Department of the Interior —

Office of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians

CHARTER FOR TRUST REFORM

We the undersigned affirm our longstanding principles, expressed herein:

1. While working together we must always remember that the Indian tribes and individual Indians, who are the 

beneficiaries of our work, are real people expecting their assets to be properly managed and protected. Hence, 

Trust Reform is not an abstract exercise in government policy; instead, it is a dynamic corrective process that will 

benefit citizens, taxpayers and most importantly—the American Indian trust beneficiaries.

2. The future of Trust Reform is in our hands. We are all being watched and judged on how well we do our 

jobs, how well we cooperate and how well we handle this monumental responsibility. We are accountable to our 

American Indian trust beneficiaries and must be committed to success in Trust Reform.

3. The overall success of Trust Reform will require the successful implementation and completion of each subproject. Each of us must be cognizant of the fact that the subprojects are inter-related and necessary elements 

of the total Trust Reform process. Hence, each of us must be committed to the success of every subproject with 

the awareness that the failure of any subproject is a failure for us all.

4. Trust Reform requires cooperation and advocacy among all subproject managers. While subproject managers 

may have professional disagreements, or take different positions on issues, each of us must maintain a respectful and cooperative spirit in order to achieve Trust Reform success. We pledge our cooperation and advocacy for 

each other and, when necessary, agree to strive for consensus on issues in which we disagree.

5. We will adopt a policy of open communication with the stakeholders. Factual and comprehensive communication with stakeholders must be considered a critical element for the success of Trust Reform.

6. We recognize, along with our beneficiaries, that Trust Reform is an historic task. Therefore, we pledge that 

our responsibility to the American Indian trust beneficiaries will never be compromised by our internal views.

 October 2, 2001

 Albuquerque, New Mexico