Department of the Interior • Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians Volume 15/Issue 1 Fall 2015

TRUST MATTERS

www.doi.gov/ost

As the temperatures slowly dip and the days grow shorter, I look back on the 

summer and reflect on my experiences visiting our field offices as time well 

spent. Not only did I get the chance to meet a lot of our Fiduciary Trust Officers, but also the people who make OST run every day. Without our staff 

members, calls would go unanswered, assets would be neglected, and facilities 

would go unrepaired. I take my responsibility to every Trust Beneficiary seriously and am working diligently to assure that each OST employee across the 

country provides outstanding service to our customers every day. The Office of 

the Special Trustee has been in existence for 20 years and accomplished a lot, 

but I know the next 20 years hold the promise of even greater service to Indian 

Country from our dedicated employees.

During my time away 

from DC I had the opportunity to connect with 

tribal leaders across the 

country, including Geoffrey Standingbear, Principal 

Chief of the Osage Nation 

as well as Nathan Gordon, 

Vice Chair for the Red 

Cliff Band of Lake Supeior 

Chippewa. These leaders 

shared valuable insights 

as we worked together to formulate a 

vision for OST that is more aligned with 

the future needs of tribes. Many issues 

were brought up including the financial 

education and future of Indian Country’s youth, leadership within the community, access to OST services, as well as the financial well-being of tribes 

through Indian Country. While OST addresses some of the issues mentioned, it 

has a ripple affect that touches many other aspects of life that will only improve 

general quality of life overall.

This summer also saw the first meeting of the Special Trustee’s Advisory Board. 

Drawn from all walks of life in Indian Country, the members of the board 

bring years of specialized experience to the table, all with the common goal of 

advising the Special Trustee on how to best serve all trust beneficiaries. At the 

first meeting, the Board selected their leadership team, formulated goals for 

next year, and received top-level briefings by members of OST’s senior management. The board also toured the Masthead facility and was impressed and 

excited to see all the work being done to serve the agency’s benficiaries.

This fall and winter will bring me to more field sites where I hope to get more 

input from our staff, tribal and community leaders, and most importantly, the 

beneficiaries.

A Message From The Special Trustee

OST - College Career Fairs

The Office of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians (OST) 

will be attending college career 

fairs throughout the year. Follow 

us on Facebook to find out if we’ll 

be at your local university soon, at 

http://www.facebook.com/specialtrustee/events

Drop by and find out more about 

OST!

Left to right during the Great Lakes 

Agency, Ashland visit: Valerie Greene, Laurie LePlavy, Michelle Davidson, Gail Pufall, 

Special Trustee Logan, Michelle Basina, 

Jewel VonFang Taber, and Joni Gierczic 

Table of Contents

A Message From The 

Special Trustee

Workplace Improvement 

Team Celebrates 8 Years

Contracting & 

Compacting Update

Improve Credit WIth On

Time Rental Payments

OST Receives 

Whistleblower Certification

Trust Beneficiary Call 

Center Receives First DOI 

Award For Outstanding 

Customer Service

Social Media Update

Summer & Fall Outreach 

Highlights

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By Steve Carlisle

The Workplace Improvement Team (WIT) at OST is 

celebrating eight years of service making OST a great 

place to work. Studies indicate that an engaged workforce 

correlates to increased productivity, higher quality work 

product, less absenteeism, less turnover and a greater 

commitment to the goals of the organization. This 

employee-driven team understands that great beneficiary 

service depends on an engaged workforce.

“Eight years ago WIT started enhancing work environments and improving resources for the field staff in serving our beneficiaries. WIT members are good listeners 

and excellent helpers in making our beneficiaries experience the best!” – Gayla J. Bennett, Trust Accounts Manager, Great Plains Region

“I love my job and being a part of WIT. It’s encouraging 

to know that you can help make a difference. WIT helps 

our employees to be engaged and happy, and a satisfied 

employee will be more motivated and productive to better serve our beneficiaries.” – Katrina Brown, Accounting 

Technician, Chickasaw Agency

Congratulations to the Workplace Improvement Team 

for eight years of outstanding service. 

Workplace Improvement Team Celebrates 

Eight Year Anniversary 

2 TRUST MATTERS

Contracting & Compacting Update

By Robert Becenti

The Office of External Affairs has been delegated authority to administer OST’s P.L. 93-638 program activities, 

and has been busy this summer reviewing a number of 

draft tribal agreements and funding documents for the 

upcoming fiscal and calendar year 2016. The office has 

participated in a number of negotiation meetings with 

tribes that contract or compact with either the Real Estate Appraisal Services program or the Beneficiary Processes Program, operated out of OST’s Field Operations. 

At present, these are the only two programs eligible to 

contract or compact, although the office will be working 

during FY2016 to identify other potential OST contractible or compactible programs.

Currently, thirty-six tribes contract or compact, either 

the Real Estate Appraisal Services Program or the 

Beneficiary Processes Program. The Morongo Band 

of Mission Indians is the most recent tribe to compact 

the Appraisals program and other tribes are considering contracting or compacting the program as well.

Overseeing the number of tribal agreements in place 

can be time-consuming, but the work is worth it to 

provide tribes the necessary support in their selfdetermination efforts.

To learn more about OST’s efforst to assist tribes in 

contracting and compacting, please contact Robert 

Becenti at Roberson_Becenti@ost.doi.gov or (505) 

816-1413.

Improve Credit With On-Time Rental 

Payments

By Brian Ross

Home ownership has long been a part of the American Dream. But for many Americans with poor or 

no credit, the dream remains elusive.

Potential borrowers face a Catch-22. In order to obtain credit, you have to present a solid credit history. 

In order to establish a solid credit history you have 

to manage credit responsibly.

This reality has forced many families with little 

choice than to pay rent for their housing needs.

Housing typically represents the largest portion of 

the family budget. But renters have not traditionally received credit for paying the rent on time. One 

exception is where borrowers with less than stellar 

credit can provide potential lenders with proof of 

their on-time payments to help qualify for a home 

loan. But this often results in paying higher interest 

rates when such additional documentation is required in lieu of a stronger FICO score.

RentReporting.com may offer a solution. The Pasadena, CA based company is an example of rental 

reporting firms that work with your landlord to 

report the rental payment history to credit reporting agencies. On-time payments can lead to credit 

establishment and/or improved FICO scores. They 

can even reflect the prior two years of rental payments - if you choose.
RentReporting.com charges $9.95/month for their base 

service. The cost is something consumers will have to 

weigh compared to the cost of renting or paying higher 

interest rates due to poor credit. Another firm offering 

similar services is RentalKharma.com.

Given that the greatest factor impacting your credit 

score is a history of on-time payments, being credited 

for your positive rental payment history may be worth 

exploring.

For more information, contact Brian Ross at Brian_

Ross@ost.doi.gov

OST Receives Whistleblower Certification

Above: This summer, Laurie Larson-Jackson visited the Special 

Trustee to celebrate OST receiving its certificate of compliance 

from the Office of Special Counsel for being one of 30 Federal 

agencies to comply with the legislation, as well as the first 

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 1 3

proud of this achievement,” said Special Trustee 

Logan. “It is at the very heart of our fiduciary trust 

responsibilities to identify – and eliminate – fraud, 

waste and abuse, and now our employees are 

empowered to report possible violations promptly.”

Over the span of two months this past spring, every 

OST supervisor and manager received training 

conducted by Laurie Larson-Jackson, Associate 

Inspector General for Whistleblower Protection in 

DOI’s Office of the Inspector General. Additionally, 

line employees attended workshops and a wide 

variety of informational materials were distributed 

throughout the agency. The Office of Special Counsel 

then certified that OST met all of the requirements 

under the President’s mandate. 

Trust Beneficiary Call Center Receives 

First DOI Award For Outstanding 

Customer Service

By Steve Carlisle

The Secretary’s Customer Service Award recognizes, 

promotes and rewards service excellence, professionalism and outstanding Federal employees and 

partners that directly impact external customers. 

Through these awards the Department seeks to 

acknowledge exemplary efforts by individuals and 

initiatives delivering services to American citizens.

The Trust Beneficiary Call Center (TBCC) was 

selected to receive the first of these awards. As described in the award citation, “The TBCC provides 

American Indian trust beneficiaries with an easily 

accessible point of contact for answering questions 

about their trust assets and handling requests for 

account updates and disbursements. Over the past 

three years, the TBCC has responded to an average 

of 184,000 beneficiary contacts per year and has an 

overall first line resolution rate of 97%. This high 

rate is an important indicator of the superb quality 

of customer service. Established in 2004, the TBCC 

responded to the one millionth beneficiary call on 

March 12, 2012. The TBCC operates six days a week 

from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has operators 

trained in excellent customer service techniques to 

answer a broad spectrum of questions about trust 

assets we well as questions about the Land Buy-Back 

Program for Tribal Nations.”

By Steve Carlisle

On July 15 of this year, OST became the only agency 

within the U.S. Department of the Interior and one 

of only 30 agencies in federal government to receive 

certification from the Office of Special Counsel under 

the Whistleblower Enhancement Act. This means that 

all of OST’s employees are fully aware of their rights 

to disclose a perceived violation of law without fear of 

reprisal, and that supervisors fully understand the laws 

prohibiting retaliation against whistleblowers. The goal: 

to quickly identify fraud, waste and abuse.

Earning this certification is an important part of 

OST’s commitment to beneficiaries to ensure that all 

employees and supervisors will report violations of law 

without fear of retaliation. “We are justifiably
4 TRUST MATTERS

Social Media Update

Are you on Facebook posting pictures of your favorite 

cat, Mr. Lumpy? Do you tweet rhapsodic about your 

food truck turkey burger you had at lunch? Maybe 

you’re more of an observer, looking to social media for 

the most up-to-date community, regional, and national 

news and information. Well, good news, the Office of the 

Special Trustee now has an official Facebook page and 

Twitter feed.

Find us here:

Website: http://www.doi.gov/ost

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/specialtrustee

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/special_trustee

We’ll be posting updates from the field, local event 

information, Indian Country news, updates on the Land 

Buy Back Program, information on the Special Trustee’s 

travel to the field, and anything else that YOU want to 

see. So drop us a note at OST_feedback@ost.doi.gov and 

let us know what you’d like to see, how you think we’re 

doing, what events you’d like to see OST attend, as well 

as stories of the way OST has impacted you, a friend, or 

a family member, and pictures of you working with OST.

We’d also like to expand our social media presence, so let 

us know where you are! Would you like to see us blog? 

Maybe Periscope our next outreach event? Social media 

isn’t quite as productive or enjoyable if there’s only one 

person talking, so give us feedback and talk back. Keep 

your eyes here for more updates and see you in the next 

issue of Trust Matters.

Did you know? OST provides investment 

management services for other agencies, 

including the Bureau of Reclamation 

and the U.S. Treasury.

Summer & Fall Outreach Highlights

By Jackie Arviso

October 18-23, 2015 - National Congress of American Indians Annual Conference & Marketplace, San 

Diego, CA

OST greeted over 400 visitors at the 72nd Annual 

NCAI Conference & Markerplace. The visitors 

included Individual Indian Money (IIM) accountholders, tribal members, and the general public 

who inquired about the services provided by OST. 

Questions covered various topics, such as: Cobell 

Settlement payments, Whereabouts Unknown Account holders List, Land Buy Back Program (LBBP), 

financial education, and the Indian scholarship fund. 

Having OST staff and senior leadership on-site at 

the event was a great networking opportunity that 

provided visitors with direct access to staff experts 

who could answer their inquiries immediately. The 

OST booth was well represented by staff from Field 

Operations and the Office of External Affairs.

September 11-13, 2015 – Indian Summerfest, 

Milwaukee, WI

The Great Lakes Field Office and OEA attended the 

fest to share information about OST, the Land Buy 

Back Program, and all the services available to beneficiaries. Indian Summerfest was started to educate, 

preserve and promote American Indian cultures; 

showcase the diversity that exists within tribal cultures; provide economic opportunities to the people 

and strengthen communication and understanding. 

Find out more about the event by emailing indiansummer@wi.rr.com

Cobell Payments

On December 8, 2010, the President signed legislation 

approving the Cobell settlement. By November 6, 2012, 

all pending appeals ended. Plaintiffs’ Claims Administrator, 

Garden City Group (GCG), began issuing Cobell Trust 

Administration Class (Stage 2) payments on 

September 15, 2014, following the District Court’s 

September 11, 2014, approval of plaintiffs’ Motion to 

begin distribution. For information about payments, contact 

GCG at 1-888-961-6109 or info@IndianTrust.com.