Department of the Interior

Offi ce of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians

Volume 10, Issue 1

Winter 2010

TRUST MATTERS

 Table of Contents

Fractionation Update 1

Big Money & WAU 1 

Indian Wills Clinic 2

Consultation Plan 2

FY 2011 Budget Request 3

Indian Trust Training 3

Money Wisdom 4

Speaking of Money 4

Big Money

Whereabouts Unknown (WAU) is the term used for 

an Individual Indian Money (IIM) account whose 

owner’s current address information is not available to 

the Offi ce of the Special Trustee for American Indians 

(OST). Some WAU accounts have thousands of dollars 

just waiting for account owners!

Two account holders were glad they stopped by the 

OST outreach booth at an American Indian festival in 

August 2009. When the account holders updated their 

address information, they found that one account held 

more than $14,000 and the other had a balance over 

$6,000.

To fi nd out if you have a WAU account, go to the 

OST website at www.doi.gov/ost/wau. Each of the 

listed names represents an account, which may 

contain money for the account owner. However, some 

accounts have only land ownership interests. Th e Trust 

Benefi ciary Call Center (TBCC) is another source to 

check. Call the TBCC, toll free, at 1-888-678-6836 

Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 

Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, Mountain time.

Fractionation Update

Th e proposed Cobell settlement agreement addresses fractionated 

land interests by providing a $2 billion fund to consolidate lands. Th e 

agreement states the Department of the Interior will distribute the fund 

in accordance with the Land Consolidation Program and other applicable 

legislation and provisions of the agreement. Th e Department is commited 

to consulting with tribes on the implementation of this portion of the 

proposed settlement. 

Th e agreement also contains a formula for contributions from the Trust 

Land Consolidation Fund to be allocated to an 

Indian Education Scholarship Holding Fund. 

A copy of the proposed settlement is posted at

www.doi.gov/ost. Click on the “Cobell 

Settlement” link at the top of the page. Or 

visit www.cobellsttlement.com and click 

on the “Key Documents” link.
2 TRUST MATTERS

The newly established Jodi Marquette Indian Wills Clinic exists because a few people, encouraged by 

Fiduciary Trust Offi cer (FTO) Henry Ware (Concho 

Agency), saw an ongoing need and worked to fi nd 

a solution. An anonymous donor has provided the 

monetary means to operate the clinic for at least three 

years.

Th e eff ort that eventually led to the clinic started in the 

fall of 2008. A series of nine sessions were held to help 

American Indians in Oklahoma prepare their wills. 

Th e Oklahoma Bar Foundation funded the project, 

which paired Oklahoma City University (OCU) Law 

School students with American Indians who needed 

will preparation services. Th e third-year students were 

overseen by Casey R. Ross-Petherick, Director of the 

Native American Resource Center of the law school. 

Th e sessions took place in Anadarko Agency, Concho 

Agency and Southern Plains Region locations.

Th e clinic, under the direction of Ross-Petherick, 

will begin by serving urban Indians in Oklahoma 

City, Oklahoma. Off -site visits to tribal offi ces will be 

scheduled in subsequent semesters. In addition to will 

services, other estate planning will be off ered.

Appointments at the wills clinic are limited to Indian 

trust landowners who are Oklahoma residents, due 

to attorney licensing issues. However, the curriculum 

developed by the Oklahoma City University Law 

School could be duplicated in other states that have 

public or private law schools. Th e bigger vision is that 

the solution will expand beyond Oklahoma.

For information about the clinic, contact the OCU 

Native American Legal Resources Center at 405-208-

5017 or your local Fiduciary Trust Offi cer. Locate your 

FTO at www.doi.gov/ost/ft o.

Indian Wills Clinic Established in Oklahoma

White House Requires Consultation

Plan of Action from Each Agency

In November 2009, President Obama instructed 

each federal agency that works with Indian nations 

to submit a detailed plan of actions to implement 

the policies and directives of Executive Order 13175 

(November 6, 2000). Th e purpose of the Order is “to 

establish regular and meaningful consultation and 

collaboration with tribal offi cials in the development 

of [f]ederal policies that have tribal implications, 

to strengthen the United States government-togovernment relationships with Indian tribes, and to 

reduce the imposition of unfunded mandates upon 

Indian tribes....”

Later that month, Department of the Interior (DOI) 

Secretary Salazar launched the eff ort to develop a 

Department-wide policy on tribal consultation. 

Seven consultation sessions were held between 

December 2, 2009, and January 14, 2010, in cities 

throughout the country. Personnel from the Offi ce of 

the Special Trustee for American Indians participated 

in every session. During the sessions, tribal leaders 

off ered recommendations on ways to improve the 

consultation process. 

On January 20, 2010, Tracie Stevens, Senior Advisor 

to DOI’s Assistant Secretary of Indian Aff airs 

(AS-IA), briefed tribal leaders who attended the 

Self-Governance Advisory Committee meeting in 

Washington, D.C. She emphasized that DOI’s initial 

detailed plan of actions was being developed and that 

there may be further consultations with tribal leaders 

aft er the plan of actions has been submitted to OMB. 

For more information, please contact Lee Fraizer, OST 

External Aff airs, at 202-208-7587.

Pictured left to right: Robin Phillips, Southern Plains Region 

FTO; Stephen Coit, Pawnee Agency FTO; Casey Ross-Petherick, 

Director of the OCU Law School Native American Resource 

Center; Henry Ware, Concho Agency FTO; Mitchell Stephens, 

Anadarko Agency FTO, at the January kick-off planning 

meeting.
VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1 3

OST FY 

2011 Budget 

Request

On February 1, 2010, at a press 

conference of the Department 

of the Interior, the President’s 

fi scal year 2011 budget request 

was released. Th e Offi ce of the 

Special Trustee for American 

Indians (OST) budget request 

for fi scal year 2011 is $160.2 

million, which refl ects a 

decrease of $25.8 million below 

the enacted fi scal year 2010 

budget.

Due to the proposed Cobell 

settlement, the budget includes 

a decrease of $25 million for 

Individual Indian Money 

accounting work performed 

by the Offi ce of Historical 

Trust Accounting (OHTA). 

OHTA will still perform tribal 

accounting for 95 pending tribal 

cases, which involve 116 tribes, 

and work on pre-calendar year 

2003 special deposit accounts. 

Other decreases in the budget 

request include:

 $1.5 million as a 

result of in-sourcing 

records indexing 

and completion of 

the historical record 

indexing project

 $1 million as a result 

of the Data Quality 

and Integrity postconversion clean 

up, which is nearing 

completion

 $60,000 from 

implementing and 

automating one-time 

disbursement process

 $50,000 from cost 

savings by providing 

disbursements to trust 

benefi ciaries via the 

debit card program

In addition, President Obama 

established the SAVE Award 

program to challenge federal 

employees to submit ideas that 

will yield savings and improve 

government operations. OST 

anticipates it will realize savings 

from implementing SAVE 

award proposals in three areas:

 $190,000 from 

consolidation of 

systems, including 

email, servers, data 

centers and help desks 

within the Department

 $107,000 through the 

expansion of strategic 

sourcing of acquisitions, 

beyond its current 

use for soft ware and 

hardware acquisitions

 $35,000 reduced 

travel expenditures 

due to expanded 

implementation of 

technologies such as 

videoconferencing, 

teleconferencing, 

shared websites and 

other technologies 

that enable real-time 

communications 

and shared access to 

documents

A few increases are included 

in the overall budget request, 

including $800,000 for the trust 

services probate workload. 

Th e requested funding level 

will enable OST to support 

American Indian communities 

by providing accurate and 

responsive fi duciary trust 

services to individual Indians 

and tribal trust benefi ciaries. 

To view the budget request 

document, go to www.doi.gov/

ost, click on the Quick Access 

Links at the top of the left 

navigation column and select 

“Budgets.” 

Understanding 

the Indian Trust

How is the Indian trust unique 

in the world of trusts? How 

do the Offi ce of the Special 

Trustee for American Indians 

(OST) and the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs (BIA) work together to 

manage your trust assets? 

Receive training that will bring 

you up to speed on how the 

government handles the Indian 

trust.

OST’s Offi ce of Trust Training 

offers classes such as Trust 

Fundamentals and training on 

the Trust Funds Accounting 

System. These classes, the 

same as those attended 

by OST and BIA employees, 

are offered to employees of 

self-governance and selfdetermination tribes that 

perform trust functions. 

To learn about course 

curricula, who should 

attend classes and logistics 

of holding classes at your 

location, call 505-816-1023.
4 TRUST MATTERS

Money Wisdom in Indian Country

Th e Fiduciary Trust Offi cer (FTO) at the Standing 

Rock Agency is a member of the Financial Education 

Awareness Team (FEAT), which is promoting 

Maszaska Woksape (money wisdom) concepts to 

students at Sitting 

Bull College and 

to members of the 

local community. On 

January 21, 2010, a 

short FEAT segment 

was introduced on 

the KLND radio 

program hosted by 

the college’s student 

services director. Every 

other week, a FEAT 

member will present 

a segment about 

fi nancial skills. Also, 

the program includes a 

weekly fi nancial literacy 

question for audience members to research. Th e 

answer is revealed during the following week’s show. 

Th e program is broadcast to both the Standing Rock 

and Cheyenne River Reservations, which cover almost 

5.2 million acres in North and South Dakota.

FEAT is just one of many eff orts the Offi ce of the 

Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) FTOs 

are supporting to enhance fi nancial skills in Indian 

country. Th ere are adult education classes and 

high school programs being off ered 

in conjunction with numerous tribes. 

FTOs have taken the First Nations 

Development Institute (FNDI) 

and Oweesta Building Native 

Communities training so they can 

present fi nancial skills training in a 

culturally sensitive way. 

Financial literacy is critically 

important to the country’s 

economic recovery and success.

It is championed by the President’s 

Advisory Council on Financial 

Literacy. 

Contact your FTO to arrange fi nancial skills training 

programs or to participate in classes. Locate your FTO 

at www.doi.gov/ost/ft o.

Speaking of Money...

The Chase debit card is a safe, convenient way 

to receive disbursements to your IIM account. 

Contact your FTO for more information and to 

sign up or ask about the direct deposit option.

Look for this image, which is part of OST’s 

debit card campaign.