The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians continually seeks to locate Individual Indian Money beneficiaries for whom it has no current information on file. As of March 31, 2008, OST's Whereabouts Unknown program contained 81,374 such accounts. These WAU accounts total more than $72 million. In fact, some accounts have more than $100,000 in them.

To provide beneficiaries with assistance on their trust assets, OST stations fiduciary trust officers across the country. Although FTOs serve as the main point of contact for Indian beneficiary inquiries, they also work closely with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Beneficiaries can bring any trust-account question or problem to an FTO.

Sometimes, inquiries lead to locating WAUs. For example, a granddaughter called about a WAU account that she thought might belong to her grandmother. OST was able to determine the account actually belonged to her deceased great-grandmother. It took a while to sort out the lineage and obtain the appropriate documentation before the family was able to receive the account proceeds. The account had a balance of more than $10,000.

The family was glad to receive this windfall, but they were equally excited to be able to trace their lineage and fill in another branch of their family tree! And the people behind the scenes in OST and BIA were just as pleased to be able to help.

For information, please visit www.ost.gov or call the Trust Beneficiary Call Center's toll-free number, 1-888-678-6836. The call center operates six days a week — Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, Mountain Time.