The Garden City Group ("GCG") has reported that DOI has not completed the determination of addresses for those individuals coded "Whereabouts Unknown." GCG reports there are about 30,000 "Whereabouts Unknown." Who is right and who is wrong? The Office of the Special Trustee ("OST") touts their past ability to locate many individuals who were previously coded as "Whereabouts Unknown" but somehow still acknowledges that there are about 30,000 still unresolved. Each local BIA Agency has a OST Fiduciary Trust Officer ("FTO") whose primary duty is to serve IIM account owners and locate individuals and update their addresses.

The next problem, common in Indian Country, is that Indian folks move a lot without changing their address and thus become a "Whereabouts Unknown." Indians sometimes move and changing their IIM account slips from they remembrance. Usually, when they hear about a per-capita payment, or a family member notifies them that some entity want to lease land they share an interest in, they will update their IIM address. It's a constant changing list.

Simple solution? Merely issue the checks for all tracts where the ownership has been certified as correct and if any come back stamped by the Post Office as "Whereabouts Unknown" place the funds into the Individual Indian Monies account and hold until an updated address is obtained. It's not that difficult a task. OST loves to delete IIM accounts when an individual disposes of his or her trust land interest because it costs money to maintain an account and their reports look better.

My experience with FTO's is that it is a political position and most spend their days in the office hanging out with tribal officials instead of beating the bushes looking for "Whereabouts Unknown" folks. I have worked with a couple of hard working FTOs who were very proficient in performing their responsibilities, but, they are few and far in between. Too many federal employees soon forget they were hired to protect, preserve, and assist mineral and landowners in managing their lands.