Fractionation Update

Excellent progress is being made on the 

issue of fractionation. Supported by 

a new grant from the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs, the InterTribal Monitoring 

Association (ITMA) continues 

to move toward creative solutions. 

Additional consultation sessions with 

tribes will be held in the fall.

ITMA has met with more than a dozen 

families from the Blackfeet and Crow 

tribes. Members of these families 

voluntarily reviewed estate planning 

options to ensure the lands they own will 

no longer have fractionated ownership. 

ITMA has also produced a brochure 

about fractionation. It was mailed to 

tribes and probate offices in July. 

Fractionation Update

Excellent progress is being made on the

Department of the Interior

Offi ce of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians

Volume 9, Issue 3

Summer 2009

TRUST MATTERS

Table of Contents

Tribal Share 1 

Fractionation Update 1

NM Indian Affairs Director 2

Greening OST 2

Advisory Board 2

FTO Urban Outreach 3

Let’s Find...WAUs 3

The Haskell Connection 4

Appriasal Backlog 4

Tribal Share Consultations

Tribes have expressed concerns that appraisal program tribal 

shares calculated in 1995 have not changed. Also, there appear to 

be funding inequities for tribes that contracted or compacted the 

appraisal program after the 1995 date. The Offi ce of the Special 

Trustee for American Indians (OST) is revising how funding shares 

are calculated and allocated to tribes that contract or compact 

the appraisal program pursuant to P.L. 93-638, the Indian SelfDetermination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (referred to as 

638) as amended [25 U.S.C. §450j-1(a)].

OST held a series of consultation sessions between June 30 and 

August 18 to discuss ideas for developing a new tribal share 

allocation formula that will be used to apportion funds for tribes 

performing or interested in performing the appraisal program. 

The new formula will ensure uniformity and transparency in 

determining tribal shares and residual funding for inherently federal 

functions.

The original tribal share formulas were developed by Bureau of 

Indian Affair (BIA) regions in 1995. As a result, 12 different Tribal 

Share Allocation Formulas (TSAFs) were developed. When the 

Indian Lands Valuation program was transferred from the BIA to 

OST in March 2002, BIA Awarding Offi cials and OST offi cials 

continued the region-by-region TSAF policy to maintain continuity. 

Some of the TSAFs are very simple. In the Midwest Region, for 

example, the available regional budget for appraisals is divided by 

the number of tribes in the region. Other regions’ TSAFs incorporate 

different variables in their formulas, such as land base, population 

or historical workload. Some regional TSAFs are quite complex, 

involving fi ve or more weighted components. 

OST is reviewing tribal input to options discussed during the 

consultation process. Findings, recommendations and possible plans 

for further consultations will be communicated as soon as possible 

and will be published on the OST website. For the latest information, 

call either Lee Frazier at 202-208-7587 or Eldred Lesansee at 

505-816-1602 or visit www.doi.gov/ost and click on the 2009 Tribal 

Shares link.
Over the summer, the fi rst senior 

manager meeting was held via webcam. All the managers were able to 

stay at their desks. This saved travel 

time and costs! With the nation, and 

even the world, focused on supporting earth-friendly processes and 

operations, the Offi ce of the Special 

Trustee for American Indians 

(OST) is onboard. 

OST’s move toward a paperless 

accounting system means less 

destruction of natural resources to 

produce products and less residual 

paper to dispose of or recycle. For 

OST, encouraging Indian trust account holders to sign up for a debit 

card or direct deposit account is key 

to a paperless system. Disbursing 

funds electronically eliminates the 

need for paper checks and envelopes. It also is less expensive for 

the Treasury to process paperless, 

electronic transactions. 

In the future, online communications 

is another step OST will take toward 

saving the environment—and time 

(for printing and mailing) and money 

(for paper and postage). OST is working toward secure electronic access for 

account holder information, which is 

the norm for most fi nancial businesses 

today.

Treasury’s Pay.gov site will be available to lessees by the end of 2009.

This system makes possible online 

lease and permit payments, instead of 

mailing paper checks to the lockbox. 

Help the environment. Ask your 

Fiduciary Trust Offi cer (FTO) about 

the debit card or direct deposit option. 

Locate your FTO at www.doi.gov/

ost/fto. You can also call the Trust 

Benefi ciary Call Center (TBCC) at 

1-888-678-6836, toll free. The TBCC 

is open from Monday through Friday, 

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

to noon, Mountain time.

Greening Indian Trust Processes

Great strides have been made in New Mexico’s government 

to government relations with tribes. The current Secretary of 

the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department toured the offi ce of the 

Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) facility in Albuquerque 

on June 23, 2009. Before touring, Secretary Alvin Warren addressed 

OST employees about the unique department he heads, which is the 

only cabinet-level Indian Affairs department in any state. 

Alvin Warren

Secretary, New Mexico Indian Affairs Department

2 TRUST MATTERS

“It’s a 

new era of 

state-tribal 

relations, 

and New 

Mexico 

is at the 

forefront.”

Advisory Board

Tours AIRR

The Special Trustee’s Advisory 

Board met at the American Indian 

Records Repository (AIRR) in 

Lenexa, Kansas, on June 18, 

2009. The meeting was chaired by 

board member Edward Holland. 

The day’s agenda included a 

tour of AIRR and of the new 

facility of the Offi ce of Historical 

Trust Accounting (OHTA). Board 

members were impressed with the 

facilities, preservation and storage 

of records and the indexing 

project. They also noted the 

professionalism and dedication of 

the records staff.

Fiduciary Trust Offi cer Henry 

Ware (Concho Agency, El Reno, 

Oklahoma) made a presentation 

about the estate planning project 

piloted in his area with the 

Oklahoma City University Law 

School. The program allows law 

students to work with individual 

Indian account holders to write 

wills under the supervision of 

law professors. A member of the 

board, Professor David English, 

expressed interest in expanding 

this program throughout Indian 

country. 

The next board meeting will be 

held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 

in September.
Reaching

Urban Indians

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 3

Urban Indians were more than 60 

percent of the American Indian and 

Alaskan Native population, according to the 2000 Census. Urban 

Indians reside in metropolitan areas 

and may have different cultural 

experiences than those who live on 

reservations or territorial land. This 

segment of the population may 

rely, in part, upon Indian centers to 

stay in touch with their cultures.

Recognizing the communication 

value of urban Indian centers, 

Offi ce of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians (OST) Fiduciary 

Trust Offi cers (FTOs) establish 

relationships with centers in their 

areas to optimize communications 

with Individual Indian Money 

(IIM) account holders.

One example is the outreach by 

Fiduciary Trust Offi cers Margie 

Hutchinson, Colville Agency, and 

Dan Vis, Northern Idaho Agency, 

to urban Indians living in Spokane, 

Washington. They collaborate 

with the American Indian Community Center in Spokane to provide 

benefi ciary services to individual 

Indians and Alaska Natives not living on reservations.

OST would like to expand its communications with Indian centers. If 

you are aware of a center that does 

not know about OST, please call 

OST’s Offi ce of External Affairs 

at 202-208-4289 or email 

debby_pafel@ost.doi.gov. 

Detectives, databases, and 

dogged determination!

Employees and contractors with the 

Offi ce of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians (OST) have used 

these means, and others, to locate 

Whereabouts Unknown (WAUs). 

That is what OST calls Individual 

Indian Money (IIM) account 

holders who don’t have current 

address information on fi le. 

There is a lot of money—over 

$73 million total—being held for 

WAUs. 

Some 

accounts 

have 

tens of 

thousands 

of dollars 

in them!

Recently in Washington’s Puget 

Sound area, four WAUs were 

identifi ed. The total of their four 

accounts was almost $200,000. 

One Puget Sound Agency Accounts 

Maintenance Technician was 

responsible for trying all sorts of 

approaches to fi nd these account 

holders. Big results, although 

this activity is just a small 

part of a technician’s 

assigned duties! 

Meanwhile, down south, 

the fi rst general population 

outreach effort in the 

Eastern region took place 

in Florida during the SelfGovernance Conference in May. 

Results of the effort exceeded 

the modest expectations of OST 

staff. More than 130 individuals 

provided WAU contact information 

and nine tribal organization 

representatives requested WAU 

information specifi c to their 

tribes.

Do you know anyone on the 

WAU list? Bring out your inner 

detective and check out the 

WAU listing at www.doi.gov/

ost/wau. You may also follow up 

or provide leads by calling the 

Trust Benefi ciary Call Center 

(TBCC) at 1-888-678-6836, toll 

free. The TBCC is open Monday 

through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 

p.m. and on Saturday from 8:00 

a.m. to noon, Mountain time.

Cartoon credit: Jeff Bucchino, 

“The Wizard of Draws” 

www.wizardofdraws.com

Let’s Go Find ‘Em!
It just seemed a natural fi t. When 

the American Indian Records 

Repository (AIRR) opened in 

May 2004 at a location close to 

Haskell Indian Nations University, 

part of the plan was to foster a 

relationship among Haskell, the 

Offi ce of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians (OST) and the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA).

OST partnered with NARA to 

provide archival quality storage 

space at NARA’s Lenexa, Kansas, 

facility. Centralizing all inactive 

Indian Affairs records was the fi rst 

consideration. In addition, they 

also planned to:

• Preserve the integrity of the 

records collection;

• Make records available in 

accordance with applicable 

federal law and regulations;

• Work jointly with Haskell 

University to identify and 

create a series of programs and 

projects involving the study of 

records management; and

• Support work-study 

employment, internships 

and similar opportunities for 

Haskell students at AIRR.

Since the spring semester of 

2005, 361 Haskell students have 

participated in Level One and 

Level Two records management 

courses offered within Haskell’s 

business curriculum. Instructed 

by OST staff from AIRR, 126 

students have earned a certifi cate 

in trust records management. As 

a result of this program, OST has 

hired Haskell alumni. As of April 

16, 2009, twelve members of 

OST’s staff at AIRR are Haskell 

graduates.

The Student Employment Program 

(STEP) is an opportunity for 

students to be exposed to the 

responsibilities at AIRR for 

a semester. Starting in the 

summer of 2006, fi ve students 

took advantage of the program. 

Since then, dozens of students 

have participated. Four currentlyemployed AIRR staff are former 

STEP students. Perhaps you know 

a future student who is interested 

in records management training. 

Haskell may be a good choice to 

investigate.

This year Haskell University 

celebrates its 125th anniversary. 

OST congratulates Haskell staff, 

students and alumni on the 

history of this icon of education 

in Indian country. 

Haskell and Records Management

m

Beautiful Hiawatha Hall, built in 1898.

4 TRUST MATTERS

Remember this star?

When you saw it on the cover of 

the spring issue of Trust Matters, 

the gold star was covered with 

paper. The Northwest Regional 

Office staff peeled off portions 

of the paper covering as 

appraisal backlogs were 

eliminated for each agency.

As of June 30, 93 percent of 

the appraisal backlog had been 

completed.

This gold star is just a symbol 

of the great job done across the 

country by all staff members of 

the Office of Appraisal Services.

They continue to work toward a 

zero backlog by the end of the 

fiscal year.

Staff at the Nortwest Regional Offi ce (L-R): Tom McCorquodale, Laura 

Manion, Rena Sanford, Dawn Cordts-Buendia, Philip Graf, Ernest Flechsig