Special Trustee for American Indians

The Special Trustee for American Indians is appointed by the President and reports directly to the Secretary of the Interior. The Special Trustee oversees reform efforts of the Department relating to the trust responsibilities of the Secretary.

Two offices report to the Special Trustee:
The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) was established by the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994. OST provides Department-wide oversight for the reform of Indian trust management and the implementation of new fiduciary and accounting systems. Within two years of its inception, OST’s oversight role was expanded by Secretarial order to include operational functions: accounting, investment and disbursement of beneficiary funds. In addition, OST maintains trust records, conducts land appraisals and provides beneficiary services including a call center and Fiduciary Trust Officers.

The Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) was created in July 2001 to conduct the historical accounting of Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts. The historical accounting was mandated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the class action lawsuit now titled Cobell v. Salazar. Tribal trust accounting was added to OHTA’s portfolio in July 2002 to address pending Tribal lawsuits.