Our Mission
The mission of the Office of Trust Services (OTS) is to protect, develop, manage, and enhance Indian trust resources for the benefit of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples and expand economic opportunities through effective trust management that recognizes and supports Tribes' self-governance and self-determination.
The federal trust responsibility is not only a legal relationship between the federally recognized tribes and the U.S. Government, it is also a unique relationship between “trustee” and “beneficiary.” U.S. Supreme Court decisions describe the Federal-Indian relationship as a guardian-ward relationship which has evolved into the trust relationship doctrine.
Who We Serve
Within its jurisdiction, the Pacific Region's Office of Trust Services serves the 105 Federally recognized Tribes alongside various Tribal Organizations within California.
Services We Provide
Top
History
During the last two centuries, Congress ratified numerous treaties and enacted dozens of laws that dealt directly with the lives and property of American Indians and Alaska Natives. While federal trust obligations lie at the heart of the Federal-Indian relationship, the scope of the United States’ responsibilities to Indian people extends beyond basic trust obligations to include a wide range of services delivered in concert with the principle of Indian self-determination.
More recently, the HEARTH Act of 2012, H.R. 205 (Act), allows Indian tribes to enter into certain leases without approval from the Secretary of the Interior. Another step toward true Indian Self-Determination.
The Act amended 25 U.S.C. § 415, more commonly referred to as the Long-Term Leasing Act, approved August 9, 1955, provides authority for tribes to negotiate and approve leases on tribally owned and tribal interests in allotted lands without Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) approval.
Although the role of the BIA has changed significantly over the last three decades in response to a greater emphasis on Indian self-determination, tribes still look to BIA for a broad spectrum of services.
About the Pacific Region – Office of Trust Services
The Pacific Region's Office of Trust Services assists tribal governments and allottees across the Pacific Region in managing, protecting, and developing their trust lands and natural resources. The OTS's programs aid landowners in the stewardship of their cultural, spiritual, and traditional resources, and help tribal governments create sustainable sources of revenue and jobs for their communities.
Programs administered by the Pacific Region's OTS include real estate services; land titles and records; probate; natural resources; forestry; wildland fire management; irrigation and power; safety of dams; environmental services; tribal climate resilience; land consolidation; and geospatial services.
Oversight of the Pacific Region's Trust programs is performed by the Deputy Regional Director, Trust Services.
Acting Deputy Regional Director
Trust Services
Harley Long
