The Director of OTFM reports to the Office of the Special Trustee. The funds are held in U.S. Trust for over 315 tribes and approximately 285,000 individuals. Investment earnings make up a significant portion of the total receipts. Funds are derived from the sale or rental of Indian-owned natural resources such as timber or grazing land, and royalties from oil and natural gas exploration and production. Funds also are derived from awards or settlements of tribal claims for lost land or other damages.
Interest earned on the invested funds also is part of the fund.
OTFM only handles the financial portion of the trust. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for the proper management of approximately 56 million acres of Indian land and the associated trust resources. This responsibility includes tracking the ownership status of the land as well as issuing contracts and other agreements for the sale, use, exploration or lease of the resource. TFAS stands for the Trust Funds Accounting System that has been newly implemented in nine of the twelve BIA Regional offices. The three remaining BIA Regional offices are scheduled be fully converted to TFAS this spring.