TRUST MATTERS

Department of the Interior 

Office of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians 

October 2007 

Volume 7, Issue 3 

New IT Systems 

Conversion Completed 

On September 30, 2007, the 

final Bureau of Indian Affairs 

regions and 

agencies 

were converted to 

the leasing 

module of 

the Trust Asset and Accounting 

Management System (TAAMS). 

TAAMS is now the system of 

record for land title and leasing 

across the country. 

The interface between TAAMS 

and TFAS also was completed. 

These new changes should 

reduce the time for distribution 

of funds to beneficiaries and 

improve the efficiency of staff 

performing their trust related 

duties. These systems and 

improved business practices 

should greatly improve the 

management of the Indian trust 

for beneficiaries and build 

capacity for Indian Affairs 

employees.

The role of the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) in Indian trust reform 

has evolved continuously over the past decade. When OST was created in 1994, its purpose 

was to oversee and coordinate trust reforms throughout Interior. Today, OST, the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs (BIA) and other Interior bureaus are key actors in the development and execution of trust programs. Since OST’s inception, its staffing, responsibilities, and involvement in 

trust reform have evolved and grown to support changing requirements. 

Since the late 1800s, the federal government has held American Indian assets in trust and 

collected and disbursed funds paid for the use of those assets to trust beneficiaries. The General Allotment Act of 1887, or the Dawes Act, divided Indian tribal lands into allotments that 

generally ranged from 40 to 160 acres and designated those allotments to individuals. If individuals leased their land, income generated from that use was collected by the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs for the benefit of the individual allottees. This Act remained in effect until the 

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which ended the allotment of tribal lands. The Indian Reorganization Act affirmed federal management of trust assets by allowing the federal government to collect, hold and distribute Indian trust funds. The use of trust lands and the collection 

and distribution of income continues to be managed by Interior today (unless an account 

holder chooses to receive his or her income directly). 

Until the Office of Trust Funds Management (OTFM) was created in 1989, Indian trust funds 

were managed by local BIA offices. As the trust management responsibilities and trust income grew, this local management system created inefficiencies in the national trust program. Many regions used different versions of IT systems to track the funds. OTFM was created to improve the management of trust funds. 

Years later, Congress decided that additional reforms needed to be made to the Indian trust. 

In 1992, Congress issued a report entitled Misplaced Trust which detailed a number of management problems encountered with the trust. It included concerns about management of 

funds and lack of accountability. In 1994, largely based on the report’s conclusions, Congress 

enacted the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act which, among other things, 

established the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians. 

“OST was created to provide oversight for the Secretary to ensure reforms took place,” Special Trustee Ross Swimmer, says. The Special Trustee reports directly to the Secretary of the 

Interior and coordinates fiduciary trust reforms throughout Interior. OST’s initial responsibility 

in 1994 was to improve Indian trust management and provide direction to the congressionallyThe Evolution of OST 

Continued on page 2. 
Trust Matters Page 2 

mandated reformation of the Indian trust. More than a decade later, OST’s role has changed. OST is now recognized as a key 

partner with BIA and other Interior bureaus in Indian trust management.

In 1996, Congress directed the Secretary to move the financial trust functions from BIA to OST. Secretarial Order 3197 transferred the Office of Trust Funds Management to OST’s jurisdiction. This transfer broadened OST’s responsibilities immensely. 

OST was not only monitoring trust reforms, it became responsible for managing tribal 

and individual Indian trust fund accounts and providing financial services to beneficiaries. 

In time, OST implemented the Trust Funds Accounting System (TFAS), which replaced a 

module on BIA’s Integrated Records Management System and two OST systems. 

In fiscal year 2002, an agreement was established to move appraisers from BIA to OST 

to create a separation of duties between the realty and appraisal staff. This was meant to 

address the appearance that appraisers could potentially be influenced by the realty 

department when determining the fair market value of a trust asset. 

In 2003, Interior developed the Fiduciary Trust Model (FTM), designed to improve beneficiary services and enhance trust management. The main goal of the FTM is to bring a 

beneficiary focused approach to Indian trust management and lessen the gap between 

the trustee and beneficiary. This plan led to the deployment of over 50 Fiduciary Trust 

Officers (FTOs) to act as local points of contact for beneficiaries. OST also created six 

Regional Trust Administrator positions to supervise the cadre of FTO’s. 

Another milestone in OST’s history was the opening of the American Indian Records 

Repository (AIRR) in June of 2004. OST signed an agreement with the National Archives and Records Administration to establish 

the Indian records center. Today, more than 160,000 indexed boxes containing approximately 400 million pages of records are 

stored at the AIRR. 

In July 2007, the Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) became the newest addition to OST. OHTA was created by Secretary Gale Norton in 2001 to focus additional resources on the historical accounting efforts. OHTA is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and executing the historical accounting of Individual Indian Monies and tribal trust fund accounts. Previously, 

OHTA reported to Interior’s Deputy Secretary. Today, the Executive Director of OHTA reports directly to the Special Trustee. 

Today, OST has over 600 full-time employees and manages a sizeable contractor workforce. Beginning with just a handful of 

employees and acting as an overseer to trust reforms in 1994, today OST works closely with the BIA and other Interior personnel

to manage many of the important Indian trust processes. OST is proud of the progress that has been made and will continue to 

work hard with its sister bureaus and offices to reform and manage the Indian trust and enhance the services provided to beneficiaries. 

By the numbers in FY 2007, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians: 

(Continued from page 1) 

• Delivered over 700,000 quarterly performance statements to beneficiaries who own trust assets. 

These statements provide information such as the source of funds, encumbrances (ie: leases) 

and a list of the property owned. 

• Received over $286 million in trust payments into the centralized lockbox and distributed more 

than 90% of these funds into beneficiaries’ accounts within 10 business 

days. 

• Processed more than 8 million trust transactions in beneficiaries’ accounts. 

• Conducted or participated in more than 2,675 outreach events across Indian 

Country to discuss trust reforms. 

• Received more than 185,000 calls to the Trust Beneficiary Call Center. 
The Trust Beneficiary Call Center: “Someone’s Always Going to be There”

Volume 7, Issue 3 Page 3 

Ever wonder who’s on the other end of the phone when you 

call the Trust Beneficiary Call Center (TBCC) or, how they 

know enough to quickly answer complicated questions? Call 

center “technicians”— the 16 thoroughly trained, 

hard working, and experienced people who respond to beneficiary trust fund inquiries — staff 

the center six days a week. They are kept very 

busy with the 

high volume of 

calls that flood the TBCC. 

The call center has received up to 1402 calls in 

a single day. Technicians 

do not re-direct callers by 

subject matter. Because of 

this focus on beneficiary 

service, they must be rigorously trained and have a 

broad knowledge in all 

areas of Indian trust. 

“There is so much variation in 

inquiries,” Bryan Marozas, Director of the TBCC, says. “The 

technicians need to have a thorough understanding of everything.” Marozas explains that technicians go through weeks 

of training before they ever go out on the floor. Once on the 

floor, they shadow the more experienced technicians and 

even answer “mock” calls to ensure they are prepared for real 

beneficiary questions. Technicians also keep abreast of the 

issues by reading about the progress of trust reforms and visiting the OST website to keep their information current. 

The most common questions are about account balances or a 

change of address. However, plenty of questions are much 

more complex. Technicians are trained in TAAMS, TFAS, 

ProTrac, and other issues including IIM account management, and owner interests, to name a few. Questions can be 

complicated because account holders may have different 

needs and circumstances that technicians must consider when 

answering questions. If the call center cannot provide a sufficient answer, they escalate the inquiry to a Fiduciary Trust 

Officer (FTO). Only about 10% of the questions received 

are escalated to FTOs. 

Unlike most call centers, the TBCC has an extremely low 

turnover rate. Over half of the current employees have been 

with the TBCC since its inception. Technician Rae Gatewood has been with the call center since it opened in 2004. 

“Finding individuals who are considered whereabouts unknown is the most rewarding part of the job,” Gatewood 

says. Beneficiaries have called in and discovered they had 

money they never knew they were entitled to. “When we 

are able to locate individuals and get them the money they 

deserve, it’s a great feeling,” Gatewood says. 

Call center technicians like Gatewood also document all calls 

and perform routine file 

maintenance requests, such 

as changing an address for a 

beneficiary’s account. Technicians perform an average 

of 77 routine file maintenance requests per day. 

Coupling that with the average 100 phone calls per day 

adds up to a very busy 

schedule. 

Bryan Marozas is very proud 

of his team and says they give 

dependability to the call center. “Someone’s always going to 

be there,” he says. Marozas wants beneficiaries to understand 

that their questions will always be carefully considered and 

answered. Reach the Trust Beneficiary Call Center toll-free 

at 1-888-678-6836. 

New “Restoring Trust: The Reformation of 

Indian Trust Management (1994-2007)” 

Report Available 

On October 9, 2007, OST transmitted to Congress a report 

entitled, Restoring Trust: The Reformation of Indian Trust 

Management (1994-2007). This comprehensive report chronicles the history of Indian trust management, from the 

“Dawes Act” of 1887 to the many reform initiatives that OST 

and BIA employees have completed and continue to work on 

every day. 

The report focuses on the Department of the Interior’s many 

accomplishments in reforming trust management since Congress passed the American Indian Trust Fund Management 

Reform Act of 1994, and discusses the various structural 

issues that continue to make managing the Indian trust a 

challenge. 

Read a copy of the report on OST’s website at 

www.ost.doi.gov. 

Rae Gatewood, TBCC Technician 
Department of the Interior 

Office of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians 

1-888-678-6836 

Vicki Forrest Goes to BIA 

Vicki Forrest was recently appointed as the new Deputy 

Director of the Office of Trust Services in the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs (BIA). Forrest previously served as Regional Trust Administrator (RTA) for the Office of the 

Special Trustee’s (OST) Eastern Oklahoma and Pacific 

regions beginning in March 2004. She began her career 

with OST in April 2002 as an accountant. “Working to 

improve the lives of the Indian people has been a tenet of 

my professional career,” Forrest said. “I am grateful for 

the opportunity to lead the BIA’s Office of Trust Services 

for the benefit of all tribal and individual Indian trust 

beneficiaries.” As Deputy Director, Forrest is responsible 

for all activities associated with the management and protection of federal Indian trust and restricted lands, as well as real estate services and natural resources. Forrest will be greatly missed as an RTA for OST, but her hard work will still greatly 

impact Indian trust beneficiaries. 

Debit Card Pilot 

Program 

Beginning December 2007, trust 

beneficiaries residing in the states 

of Arizona, Oklahoma, and

Washington will have the opportunity to participate in a debit 

card pilot program. Instead of 

receiving checks for their IIM 

funds, these beneficiaries can 

choose to access their trust fund 

accounts electronically with a 

debit card, even if they don’t have 

a bank account. Benefits of the 

card include: 

Faster, safer and more convenient access to funds 

No fees or inconvenience 

associated with cashing 

checks 

Convenient way to make 

purchases and get cash back 

at merchant locations 

Access to cash 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week, at 

ATMs nationwide 

OST will open enrollment for this 

optional pilot program on December 3, 2007, for account 

holders in the three pilot program 

states. 

The pilot will run until June 

2008, after which it will be reviewed before being expanded 

nationwide. For more information contact the Trust Beneficiary 

Call Center toll-free at 1-888-

678-6836. 

Announcing OST’s New Website! 

The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians has launched its new public 

website: www.ost.doi.gov. The website has been redesigned and includes many new 

helpful services and resources.

ON OUR WEBSITE, INDIVIDUAL INDIAN TRUST BENEFICIARIES CAN: 

The OST website also has current information on OST, trust reform projects, congressional activities and answers to frequently asked questions. 

 

♦ LOCATE YOUR LOCAL FIDUCIARY TRUST OFFICER

♦ RECEIVE AN EXPLANATION OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN QUARTERLY TRUST ACCOUNT STATEMENTS

♦ DOWNLOAD FORMS TO SIGN UP FOR DIRECT DEPOSIT

♦ SEARCH FOR YOUR NAME ON THE WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN LIST

♦ DOWNLOAD CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND IRS TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION FORMS

♦ OBTAIN BENEFICIARY CALL CENTER NUMBER AND HOURS (1-888-678-6836) 

IN ADDITION TO THESE FEATURES, TRIBAL BENEFICIARIES CAN: 

♦ FIND INFORMATION ON MANAGING TRUST PROGRAMS

♦ ACCESS COPIES OF TRIBAL LEADER LETTERS

♦ OBTAIN INFORMATION ON HOW TO WITHDRAW FUNDS FROM THE TRUST FOR SELF MANAGEMENT

www.ost.doi.gov