He wrote a letter to the fiduciary trust officer because he wasn’t able to visit in person to ask about his trust account. In fact, he hadn’t visited anyone since he had been sent to a detention center to serve his sentence. His circumstances complicated communicating his questions. However, he was given “the same level of service that anyone calling or walking in to see me receives,” his FTO said. He has “the rights as a trust land holder and tribal member to inquire about [his] IIM account and trust lands,” the FTO added. This may be an unusual example but it is completely in line with the charge of FTOs to be the primary points of contact for individual Indian and tribal account holders.

The Office of the Special Trustee has a cadre of FTOs stationed across the country. Experts in fiduciary trust issues, most are either certified public accountants or attorneys. Whether beneficiaries ask about land holdings, reservation-specific trust issues, probate operations, or other components of the fiduciary trust obligation, FTOs work to find answers and resolve issues. They do the behind-the-scenes work so the beneficiary does not have to seek out one contact after another.

“Our function is to listen, respect, and talk to beneficiaries,” the FTO said. He said he finds beneficiaries reciprocate the respect.

Being listened to is very important. It means someone cares, someone understands and someone will help. The beneficiary who approached this FTO was also a government employee. She asked what could be done to assist her father who had a problem managing his money due to age. His acquaintances would “help” him spend his monthly trust income early each month. It placed a significant strain on family relations and finances. The FTO put her in touch with several social services agencies and also helped her understand the process of establishing guardianship if that were to become a course of action. As the FTO noted, it was really about the faith that was placed in him to listen then work alongside the beneficiary to find solutions for her difficult and very personal issue.

Beneficiaries can easily locate their FTOs by using the map on the OST Web site. Visit www.doi.gov/ost and access the “Information for Individual Trust Beneficiaries” in the lefthand navigation.