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TRIBAL ALERT! Deadline Extended to
February 28, 2002 for Written Comments on the Department of the
Interior’s Trust Management Reform/BITAM Reorganization Proposal Summary of Trust Reform
Task Force Meeting on February 2 -3, 2002 in West Virginia Trust Reform Task Force
to Meet Next in Phoenix on March 8-9, 2002 Pacific Region
Representatives Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs Oversight Hearing on the Management of Indian Trust Funds on
Tuesday, February 26, 2002, at 10:00 a.m. Deadline for Written Comments on the Department of the Interior’s Trust Management Reform/BITAM Reorganization Proposal extended to February 28, 2002The Department of the Interior has extended the deadline for written comments on its Trust Management Reform/BITAM Reorganization Proposal. The original deadline was February 15, 2002. The deadline has been extended to February 28, 2002 in light of the scheduling of another "consultation" meeting in Portland, Oregon, on February 14, 2002. The Department of the Interior’s notice in the Federal Register (February 11, 2002, Volume 67, Number 28, page 6271) indicated that the deadline may be extended again if additional meetings are scheduled. Neal McCaleb, Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs, asked a tribal leader at the February 1, 2002 meeting to identify possible dates for a meeting in the Phoenix area. Tentative word is that a meeting may be held in Phoenix on or about March 8, 2002. During the Task Force meeting on February 3, 2002, Assistant Secretary McCaleb also agreed to a meeting in the Billings region. We will send out notice of any further extensions of the deadline for written comments. Summary of Trust Reform Task Force Meeting on February 2 -3, 2002 in West VirginiaChairwoman Susan Masten of the Yurok Tribe, Chairwoman Rachel Joseph of the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Reservation and Chairwoman Mary Belardo of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians represented the Pacific Region at the Trust Reform Task Force meeting on February 2-3, 2002 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Chairwoman Susan Masten was elected as a co-Chair of the Task Force along with Chairman Tex Hall of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation who also serves as President of the National Congress of American Indians. The Trust Reform Task Force met on Friday, February 1, 2002, in order to prepare for the weekend working retreat in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. There were many discussions regarding the participation at the weekend meetings due to the limitation on the number of participants and the interest of many tribal leaders and technical advisors who had traveled to D.C. as the meetings were supposed to be open. The Task Force committed to ensuring that all future meetings would be open. The Task Force elected co-Chairs as reported above. The Task Force reviewed protocols prepared by the Task Force’s protocol work group and the Navajo Nation and adopted interim protocols. The first day of the Trust Reform Task Force retreat was filled with presentations. Deputy Secretary Steven Griles and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb were present on behalf of the Department of the Interior who arranged the day’s presentations. Professor Charles Wilkinson from the University of Colorado School of Law provided an overview on the origin of Indian trust and what it means today. He spoke of the trust not being limited to trust funds. He observed that the BITAM proposal appears to focus on trust fund management and also observed that the proposal is not clear as to whether it flows into land and other assets management. Professor Wilkinson echoed the concerns of tribal leaders over Interior’s general trust v. non-trust distinctions. The next presenter was David Fischer, a trust officer with Bank of America, who provided an overview regarding commercial trust transactions and services and discussed the organization of Bank of America’s Asset Management Group which manages real estate and oil and gas. A discussion of trust fund management versus trust assets management followed without any clarification of BITAM’s focus by the participating Interior officials. It appeared to some Task Force members that the Interior officials present then realized that there were many more issues at stake. Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason then turned the discussion to Interior’s computer systems and what steps Interior was taking to try to bring their systems back online so that they could process payments to individuals and tribes. He also provided an overview of the observations from the EDS reports and the reasons for the BITAM proposal. Two representatives from EDS then provided an overview of the EDS Final Report and reported that a business model and plan has not yet been developed, but would be the next step. Deputy Secretary Griles was joined by Director of Trust Transition Ross Swimmer to provide an update on current trust reform activities at DOI. They reported on the data cleanup, the status of historical accounting, the Trust Asset & Accounting Management System, and the security of the computer systems. The second day of the Trust Reform Task Force retreat began with the presentation of tribal alternatives to the BITAM proposal. Proposals from the Hoopa Valley Tribe, United South and Eastern Tribes, the Intertribal Timber Council, and the Chippewa Cree and the Salish & Kootenai Tribes were presented, followed by an overview of other proposals from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the Council of Energy Resource Tribes. During the presentations, the Task Force developed a matrix of principles and objectives with which to analyze the various proposals and their components. The matrix is still in very rough draft form and John Dossett, general counsel to NCAI, is continuing to work on it in order to make it a useful tool for the Task Force and for all Tribal Leaders. The Task Force then developed a proposed scope of work and established subcommittees to address: 1) Protocols and Guiding Principles; 2) EDS Reports; and 3) Alternative Proposals. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton joined the Task Force in the afternoon. The Task Force presented the alternative tribal proposals and what the Task Force had accomplished during the retreat. Secretary Norton asked the Task Force to share with her their thoughts on what she should report to Congress about her meetings with the tribes at the upcoming oversight hearings. Task Force members were clear that Secretary Norton should report that tribes reject BITAM. Minutes from the Trust Reform Task Force meeting at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, were recorded by NCAI and the 33-page document is posted on NCAI’s website at http://www.ncai.org (opens new window) Trust Reform Task Force to Meet Next in Phoenix on March 8-9, 2002Subcommittees of the Trust Reform Task Force will continue their work either at the Portland meeting on February 14, 2002 or via teleconference. The full Task Force agreed to meet next in Phoenix on March 8th and 9th. This next meeting should be an open meeting. NCAI has been faxing and e-mailing notices of these meetings and other trust reform activities to all tribes, not just members of NCAI. If you are not receiving such notices, you should check with NCAI to ensure that they have your current contact information. Pacific Region RepresentativesChairwoman Rachel Joseph was confirmed as the Pacific region representative from Central California. Chairwoman Mary Belardo and Chairman Chris Devers of the Pauma/Yuima Band of Mission Indians decided between themselves that Chairwoman Belardo would serve as the Pacific region representative from Southern California. Due to Chairwoman Susan Masten’s election as a co-Chair of the Trust Reform Task Force, Chairwoman Rachel Joseph and Chairwoman Belardo will decide between themselves who will serve as the Pacific region alternate because each region is represented on the Task Force by only two (2) representatives and one (1) alternate. They believe that Interior will cover the costs for the full participation of the alternate at all Task Force meetings since Interior included the alternates at the Shepherdstown meeting. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing on the Management of Indian Trust Funds on Tuesday, February 26, 2002, at 10:00 a.m.The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold an oversight hearing on the management of Indian trust funds on Tuesday, February 26, 2002, at 10:00 a.m. You may check the Committee’s website for their hearing schedule at http://www.senate.gov/~scia/nsindex.html (opens new window). Written testimony must be submitted at least two days in advance and should be submitted by noon on Friday, February 22, 2002, to the following address: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs The House Resources Committee held their oversight hearing on February 6, 2002. The witness testimony is posted at http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines (opens new window) under "Committee on Resources Full Committee Oversight Hearing," on Wednesday, February 6, 2002. DocumentsAlert (PDF - opens new window) |