Some American Indians who have interests in allotted lands held in trust may not know what types of land (or mineral) interests they have. When thinking about how to transfer ownership of land interests or getting ready to write a will, owners of interests in allotted land held in trust can do one of two things to determine their land interests.
First, land interest owners can call or write the Bureau of Indian Affairs to request a copy of their Individual Trust Inventory Record (ITI) which is a detailed account of the land interests they own. At the same time, they can request a report on their Individual Indian Money Account (IIM), which is a federal Indian money account accrued by income from their land interests.
Contact Bureau of Indian Affairs Realty Offices
BIA Realty Offices (located on most American Indian Reservations throughout the country and at all Regional Offices) are equipped to take requests for ITI and IIM reports. When requesting these reports, American Indians must request them on their own behalf, sometimes in writing and sometimes over the phone, depending on the office. Included in the links below are templates for ITI and IIM requests. Please note that some Realty Office staff will process the reports simply by the American Indian verbally requesting the reports, while other Realty Offices require the request in writing, signed by the requestor (and in some cases, with a copy of a photo ID or notarized signature on the request).
Reviewing the ITI and IIM reports is important in order to identify any inaccuracies or incomplete inventories. Upon review, if there are any inaccuracies it is important to contact the Office of the Special Trustee.
Call the Office of the Special Trustee
The Department of the Interior houses the Office of the Special Trustee, which is charged with managing individual American Indian’s land interests and income from those lands. The Office of the Special Trustee, like the BIA Realty Offices, can also generate the ITI and IIM reports upon request. The Office of the Special Trustee can be reached toll free at 1-888-678-6836.
BIA IIM Form - Microsoft Word document
BIA ITI Form - Microsoft Word document