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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2002

The Department of Interior is undergoing an organizational change as part of a greater strategy to address more than a century of mismanagement of Indian trust funds and assets.

A federal judge has ordered Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and Indian affairs aide to come up with a plan to fix the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust, account for the funds in IIM accounts and the describe the standards by which the accounts will be managed. Reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Special Trustee will help meet the goal, Bush administration officials said.

The plans are due in court by January 6, 2003.

Get the Story:
Bureau of Indian Affairs Faces an Overall Shake-Up (AP 12/5)
Interior dept. reveals plan to remake BIA (The Lincoln Journal Star 12/5)
BIA to add jobs to dole out trust cash (The Albuquerque Tribune 12/5)
Interior Department to redo Indian trust fund oversight (Gannett News Service 12/5)
Username: IndianzCom, Password: indianz.com

Relevant Documents:
New BIA-OST Organization | New BIA | Old BIA

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

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