2004 Annual Report

“Land within the

original boundaries

of every reservation

and other areas of

high significance

where tribes retain

aboriginal interest are

in Indian ownership

and management.”

Indian Land Tenure Foundation

The mission of

the Indian Land

Tenure Foundation

is to ensure that:

“Land within the

original boundaries

of every reservation

and other areas of

high significance

where tribes retain

THE INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATIONM e s s a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t a n d C h a i r m a n

OFFICERSBen Black Bear, Jr. / chairman

Theresa Carmody / vice chairwomanDouglas R. Nash / secretary-treasurer

Board of DirectorsChristian K. Bends

Brian H. CollinsVirgil Dupuis

Jeremiah FarrowArvel Hale

Margie HutchinsonRoss R. Racine

Dave Tovey

STAFF MEMBERSCris Stainbrook

President

Howard D. ValandraVice President of Grants & Programs

Jo-Anne E. StatelyVice President of Development

Gerald ShermanProgram Field Associate

D’Arcy BordeauxAccountant

Chad PoitraAssociate Program Officer

Lea CoonProgram Associate

Patricia ChaseAdministrative Assistant

ILTF INVESTMENT COMMITTEEBye BarsnessTerry Maltarich

Diana L. Schutter

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2

Dear Friends,

Throughout Indian country, the pressing issues of Indian land tenureseems daunting at times, but through those times we also get a chance tosee what wonderful strides are made at local tribal levels.

It is the people, those determined individuals, demonstrating theirleadership and showing us the way to reverse the course of land loss bydeveloping effective models of land protection and restoration for thenext generations.

We at the Indian Land Tenure Foundation truly believe in the culturaland spiritual strengths of our collective communities across this greatland of ours. Therefore, in our annual report, we are pleased to show-case some of our outstanding grantees and projects.

In 2004 we targeted grants in the areas of Estate Planning by lawschool externs and Presentations of Tribal Land Histories to youth, trib-al leaders and elders.We know that you will enjoy these stories and feelthe sense of accomplishment that has been made by those who rarelythink about how they are the change makers, educators and next leadersin Indian country for Indian land tenure issues.

Ben Black Bear, Jr. Cris StainbrookChairman President

THE INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATIONM e s s a g e f r o m t h e V i c e P r e s i d e n t o f G r a n t s a n d P r o g r a m s

The Indian Land

Tenure Foundation

is a nonprofit

organization that is

organized and directed

by members of the

native land tenure

community. The

community includes

Indian landowners,

Indian people on and

off reservations, Indian

land organizations,

tribal communities,

tribal governments

and others connected

to Indian land issues.

As Vice President of Grants andPrograms, I have the responsibilityof working with our board in identi-fying particular areas of interest forour requests for proposals. This pastyear we identified two specificfocus areas that included legalexterns to work with Native peopleon estate planning and Tribal landtenure presentations to youth, triballeaders and elders. This focus high-lights the importance of educationthat empowers Indian people anduncovers the richness of our story.Two particular projects come tomind.

Extern Project with theUniversity of Wisconsin–Department of Rural Sociology

Two law school externs wereplaced at the White Earth Band ofOjibwe Land Department inMinnesota. The externs worked on70 allotments with multiple owner-ship interests held by Band mem-bers as well as interests held byIndians from other Bands through-out Minnesota and Wisconsin.These owners have been waiting anumber of years for the allotmenttitles to be updated in order to plantheir next steps in estate planning.

Often times, along with routineproperty management documents,there were personal letters writtenover 80 years ago that tell the day today experiences Indian people haddealing with their allotments. Manyof those letters are tragedies of landloss, requests to sell inheritedparcels, and questions about thealienability of their property. In onefile, for example, a person can readthe back and forth communicationbetween the Bureau of IndianAffairs and a widow who needed tosell her allotment to feed her chil-dren. She did not receive the assis-tance requested and had to findother means to feed her children.

The Little Traverse Bay Bands ofOdawa Indians

Telling the story of the tribalhomelands to tribal member youthis very important to the LittleTraverse Bay Bands of OdawaIndians in Michigan. Along with theoral history of land as told by elders,the Tribe sought information anddata from records written in Frenchby missionaries. Many of these doc-uments contain information aboutOdawa cultural beliefs and prac-tices, helping Tribal members

understand what has been carriedforward, what has been adapted andwhat has been lost.

In initial research, the Band wasable to locate and copy the first landpurchase records out of federalholding from the 19th century. Thisexciting discovery affirmed many ofthe oral histories passed from gener-ation to generation.

As you can see, the grants made bythe Indian Land Tenure Foundationare making differences in small, butsignificant ways. The stories arereal, moving and hopefully willencourage all of us to understandthe importance of knowing aboutour land histories and how to pre-serve and protect each and everyparcel of land entrusted to us forfuture generations!

Howard D. ValandraVice President of Grants andPrograms

3www.indianlandtenure.org

INDIAN LAND TENURE GRANTS APPROVED IN 2004

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The Indian Culture and Land Tenure Program/Tribal Land Tenure History Publication Requestfor Proposal was designed to help Indians become more informed about their relationship to theland by promoting and preserving tribal culture.

The Foundation approved a grantof $33,927 to the Little TraverseBay Bands of Odawa Indians forresearch of tribal land history andpresentation to youth, elders, andTribal leaders.

The Little Traverse Bay Bands ofOdawa Indians became federallyrecognized on September 21, 1994.The Tribe is geographically locatedin northern Michigan with thetreaties of 1836 and 1855 delineat-ing the reservation area that encom-passes a major portion of Emmettand Charlevoix counties. There areapproximately 4,000 enrolled mem-bers.

The Tribe established the TribalArchives and Records Department,

whose mission is to collect, pre-serve, manage and protect all signif-icant records that contain informa-tion, knowledge and wisdom of theTribe’s past and current practices.

The Tribe proposed to connect thehistorical records already obtainedwith records researched. The resultswill be shared through presentationsto youth, elders and Tribal leadersconnecting the significance of theTribe’s land tenure with culturalland practices.

The Tribal land history will beresearched and presented in threedefined time periods:

• 1740-1830 the migration patternsof the Tribe along the northern andsouthern tributary river valleys

draining into Lake Michigan.Emphasis will be on the utilizationof multiple resources over a widegeographic area during differentseasons of the year.

• 1830-1870 land cessions and thecreation of the Waganakising reser-vation. Seasonal activity continued,but confined closer to the reserva-tion. Treaty land sales occurred andallotments were issued to Tribalmembers.

• 1870-1940 influxes of non-tribalmembers and movement from sub-sistence living of agricultural, fish-ing and hunting to wage labor.

Maps will be created showing pre-contact period and land tenure histo-ries to 1940.

LITTLE TRAVERSE BAY BANDS OF ODAWA INDIANS, MI - $33,927

The Foundation approved a grant of$111,945 to the Grand Portage Bandof Minnesota Chippewa for the devel-opment and implementation of a landinformation data program for educa-tion of Tribal leaders, staff and mem-bers. The Band is located at the arrow-head of Lake Superior, with a landbase of 47,000 acres of which 37,679acres is tribally owned and 7,086 acresallotted. There is about 2,235 acres ofnon-trust land on the reservation com-prised of federal, church and private

ownership. Band membership is 790. The Band is building an easy to use

information system that collects,stores, reports, and disseminates infor-mation on the legal history of landwithin the Grand Portage IndianReservation.

The result will be the developmentand implementation of the GrandPortage Land History InformationSystem (GPLHIS). The GPLHIS willbe an easy-to-navigate document witha map page and a page for each of

approximately 1,500 parcels. It willlist all dates and documents found forevery acre of land within the reserva-tion.

In its simplest form, the GPLHIS canbe described as an electronic bookwith text graphics and maps. Theinformation collected will providetribal leaders, staff and members withlegal and historical information onreservation land to make informeddecisions and provide connectivity forthe landowners and their land data.

INDIAN LAND TENURE GRANTS APPROVED IN 2004

GRAND PORTAGE BAND OF MINNESOTA CHIPPEWA, MN - $111,945

The Foundation approved a grantof $92,700 to Salish KootenaiCollege for research, documentationand display of the land history of theSalish, Kootenai and Pend d’OreilleTribes from pre-contact to presenttime.

The Flathead Indian Reservation islocated between Missoula andKalispell, MT. It is home to theConfederated Salish and KootenaiTribes. Of the 6,950 enrolled mem-bers, about 4,500 live on or near the

reservation. The reservation com-prises over 1.2 million acres.

The development, publication anddelivery of the Salish, Kootenai andPend d’Oreille people is a jointeffort by the tribes and college. TheSalish Kootenai College-NativeAmerican Studies Department willcompile and draft the narrative onthe land history.

The Tribal history will be deliv-ered via kiosk at the Tribal Peoples’Center in Pablo, Montana in order to

reach a wide audience includingtribal adults and youth as well asvisitors to the museum. Educatingmembers to land history encouragesindividuals to learn more and con-sider management of allotted landsfor better economic means and toreduce fractionation.

Future delivery of the informationand data collection includes confer-ences, workshops and other formsof delivery.

SALISH KOOTENAI COLLEGE, MT - $92,700

5www.indianlandtenure.org

2004 GRANTS

6

The Foundation approved a grantof $20,210 to the Miami Tribe ofOklahoma to develop and present acommunity-based education pro-gram sharing cultural land history.

The Tribe linked the historicalconnection of the current land basewith lost homelands when they wereforcibly removed from Indiana,Ohio, Illinois, southern Michiganand Wisconsin to Kansas and then toOklahoma.

The Miami Tribe’s community-based education program shares cul-

tural information including tradi-tional ecological practices andknowledge to help Tribal membersunderstand their place, history andlife ways connecting past home-lands to current homelands and theeffects of removal.

The Tribe is located on allotmentlands on the Osage Reservation inNortheast Oklahoma. The jurisdic-tion area of the Tribe is 25,000 acreswith the Tribe owning 1,400 acres ofwhich 120 are in trust. Enrollment is2,940 members with 1,200 living on

or near the current reservation. The Tribe’s Cultural Preservation

Office coordinates research activi-ties with Miami University inOxford, Ohio. A number of tribalmembers attend the Universityallowing them to participate in theproject and several are assigned keyroles in the research of materials,putting together the presentations(PowerPoint, DVD and writtenmaterials) and participating in thedelivery at the annual gathering inJune 2005.

MIAMI TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA, OK - $20,210

The Foundation approved a grantof $93,900 to United TribesTechnical College to develop amulti-media toolkit for delivery incollege classrooms, high schoolclassrooms and meetings of triballandowners. It focuses on the histo-ry and cultural land practices oftribes in North Dakota and SouthDakota and the innovative waysthey are using their land for culturalenhancement.

The College developed materialsfor a toolkit that will be utilized bytribal colleges, high schools and onrespective tribal web sites. The tar-geted age group is from 16 to 24.The project organizes the education-al methodologies and resourcesleading to the offering of creativeeducational materials about Indianland tenure. The ultimate goal is bet-ter understanding of cultural landpractices and Indian land ownership

and management. Current culturalland practices are traced back to his-torical practices showing their influ-ences on how far removed currentcultural practices have become.

Established in 1969, United TribesTechnical College is an inter-triballyowned residential postsecondaryvocational, technical institution inBismarck, ND. It serves over 800American Indian students.

UNITED TRIBES TECHNICAL COLLEGE, ND - $93,900

2004 GRANTS

The Foundation approved a grantof $30,400 to Tamástslikt CulturalInstitute for the editing and publica-tion of a Tribal Cultural Atlas. TheTamástslikt Cultural Institute wasopened in 1998 by the ConfederatedTribes of the Umatilla IndianReservation.

The Umatilla Indian Reservation islocated in eastern Oregon with apopulation of 2,446 and consists of172,000 acres.

The Tamástslikt Cultural Institutereformatted a variety of documentsand records describing geographicaland cultural places throughout thehomelands of the Cayuse, Umatillaand Walla Walla Tribes into a com-monly agreed upon format pertain-ing to “Tribal” affiliations of sites.

A Tribal Cultural Atlas is beingpublished not exclusive to nativeplace names on a map, but incorpo-rating other cultural information rel-

evant to locations with explanationsof the language of the land. Theatlas will be made available to tribalmembers and the general public.Sacred or protected sites will berestricted in presentation allowingfor understanding of the sites, butnot revealing significant details thatcould result in disturbance orexploitation.

The Foundation approved a grantof $79,518 to the Alaska LegalServices Corporation for placementof a legal extern for a period of oneyear.

The primary task of the extern wasto clarify issues and consequencessurrounding Alaskan native allot-ments. A strong emphasis wasplaced on research producing draftsof probate procedures, advice, and

tribal codes. The extern performedresearch on the misdeeding of landby town site trustees, the correctionof legal descriptions of properties,and the retribalization of Nativelands.

The extern also addressed the frac-tionation of Native allotments nearKotzebue, providing direct servicesto landowners clarifying issues onland holdings and assisting with the

preparation of wills. The direct serv-ice also included presentations toTribal councils and at the annualTribal Conference.

Educational materials, modelcodes and power point presentationswere developed and shared with allAlaska tribes and posted on ALSC’swebsite.

TAMÁSTSLIKT CULTURAL INSTITUTE, OR - $30,400

ALASKA LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION, AK - $79,518

7www.indianlandtenure.org

The Legal Extern Request for Proposal was designed to inform and provide estate planning andwill writing services to individual Indians.

2004 GRANTS

The Foundation approved a grantof $653,026 to the University ofIdaho - College of Law over twoyears to provide information to trib-al members regarding estate plan-ning and provide legal services totribal members and drafts wills fortribal land owners.

The University of Idaho - Collegeof Law directed and coordinated a

pilot project - the Indian EstatePlanning Project - on reservations inIdaho, Washington, and Oregon.The project strives to empower trib-al members by informing and edu-cating them about wills and estateplanning, to provide the legal serv-ices needed to implement decisions,and to help preserve Indian lands.

Project personnel, externs, super-

vising attorneys, and law schoolliaisons presented estate planninginformation to 15 tribal communi-ties. Externs also traveled to reser-vations to meet with tribal membersto inform them of estate planningand to gather information from indi-viduals wishing to have a will pre-pared and actually drafting wills.

The Foundation granted $423,780to Dakota Plains Legal Servicesover three years to provide commu-nity education and outreach withlegal services. Dakota Plains LegalServices (DPLS) provides legalservices to clients on all reservationsin South Dakota and one reservationin North Dakota.

DPLS aim is to promote Indianland management decisions consis-tent with individual self-determina-tion and tribal sovereignty. The pro-

ject’s approach is to: 1) provideextensive community educationregarding trust land fractionationand legal options available to nativeland owners; and 2) provide legalservices necessary to enable thelandowners to turn the informationthey obtain through the communityeducation efforts into the actionrequired to accomplish their landtenure goals.

DPLS has found that communityeducation efforts resulted in an

increase in the number of landown-ers seeking legal services from itsoffices.

Paralegals also travel to urbanareas (Rapid City, Pierre, and SiouxFalls in South Dakota and Bismarckin North Dakota) throughout theyear to meet with landowners livingoff the reservation who have allot-ments or fractionated interest inallotments.

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO - COLLEGE OF LAW, ID - $653,026

DAKOTA PLAINS LEGAL SERVICES, SD - $423,780

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2004 GRANTS

The Foundation granted theUniversity of Wisconsin $12,549 toplace two externs at the White EarthBand of Ojibwe Land Departmentand Planning Office to clarify thestatus of allotment lands held bytribal members and provide educa-tion and outreach about land-relatedtopics such as fractionation and theimportance of estate planning.

The White Earth Band of OjibweReservation encompasses about

1,300 square miles in northwesternMinnesota. Most of the land is nolonger Indian-owned due to allot-ment and tax forfeiture losses in theearly 20th century. Today, about10% of the original reservation isIndian-owned. There are 34-50allotments left in Indian ownershipon the reservation.

The externs provided significantbenefits during their placement,including: clearing status on allot-

ments, reviewing plans to acceleratefuture land fee-to-trust processes,updating numerous allotments to apoint where no further BIA probateaction is necessary, stopping theprobate of fee land by the BIA, iden-tifying acres of land with incom-plete recordings at the countyrecorder office, and updating owner-ship records.

The Foundation approved a grantof $6,000 to Affiliated Tribes ofNorthwest Indians - EconomicDevelopment Corporation (ATNI-EDC) to provide support for theTribal Easement and Right-of-Way Regulation and NegotiationTraining.

In this training session, ATNI-EDC provided information on ease-ments and right-of-way concerns.This two-day comprehensive ses-sion was intended to teach partici-pants about the rights of tribes whenIndian lands are crossed by utility,telecom, or other industries.

ATNI has been working collective-ly for almost 50 years to advocatefor tribal sovereignty and protecttribal treaty rights. Membership isthrough tribal resolution andappointment by the tribal council tobecome part of the ATNI GeneralAssembly.

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-DEPARTMENT OF RURAL SOCIOLOGY, WI -$12,549

AFFILIATED TRIBES OF NORTHWEST INDIANS - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WA - $6,000

9www.indianlandtenure.org

This Special Project addressed important easement and right-of-way regulations.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A GRANT

HOW TO APPLY FOR A GRANT

The Indian Land Tenure Foundation offers grants atvarious times throughout the year that are project spe-cific and address Indian land tenure issues. Funding isavailable throughout Indian country.

Eligible organizations include, but are not limited to,tribal entities, Indian nonprofits, and nonprofitswhose work aligns with the mission of the IndianLand Tenure Foundation. Requests for Proposals areposted on our website at:www.indianlandtenure.org

For application guidelines and future requests forproposals contact:

Howard D. ValandraVice President of Grants and Programshvalandra@indianlandtenure.org

or by writing or calling:

Indian Land Tenure Foundation 151 East County Road B2Little Canada, MN 55117651-766-8999

FUNDING PRIORITIES

The Indian Land Tenure Foundation will be focusingon the strategies centered on education, culture, econ-omy and legal reform. Proposed projects mustdemonstrate activities directly benefiting the Indianland tenure community and must address at least oneof the following Indian Land Tenure Foundationstrategies:

1. Educate every Indian landowner about land manage-ment, ownership and transference issues so that knowl-edge becomes power when decisions about land assetsare made.

2. Increase economic assets of Indian landowners byhelping them gain control of Indian lands and by cre-ating financial models that convert land into leveragefor Indian owners.

3. Use Indian land to help Indian people discover andmaintain their culture.

4. Reform legal mechanisms related to the recaptureof physical, cultural and economic assets of Indianpeople and strengthening sovereignty within Indianland.

“We will protect our culture, history and relationship to the land and all that surrounds us in ways

that will support and provide for each of us and for our future generations.”

2004 DonationsDONATIONS OF $1,000 OR MORE

Fiduciary Management, Inc.First National Bank

Foundation for Community VitalityGSB Construction Management Services Inc.

ISHPISeven Clans Casino Thief River Falls

Jo-Anne E. Stately

DONATIONS $500 - $999Gerald Sherman

Minnesota Indian Economic Development FundHoward D. Valandra

DONATIONS $100 - $499American Indian Policy Center

Aaron BarrVictor Barr

Berthel Schutter, LLCBinder Heating & AC, Inc.

Theresa CarmodyPatricia Chase

Brian CollinsCrowley, White & Associates, Inc.

Dan-Bar Homes, LTDVirgil Dupuis

Grand Portage Band of Minnesota ChippewaMargie Hutchinson

Velma KimsalLundrigan’s

Marketing Incentive Resources, Inc.Menards

Pepsi/NEI Bottling CompanyPiper Jaffrey

POPP CommunicationsRandi Roth

Diana SchutterDavid Tovey

Janet Hamilton Triplett TrustJames E. Ulland

Yavapai-Apache NationZeVan Corporation

DONATIONS UNDER $100American Association of University Women-

St. Paul ChapterConscious Change/Donate.net

Kathy Denman-WilkeLarry Erickson

First Universalist ChurchRichard Garland

Vonda GluckSherry Gray

Arvel HaleJean HartIGive.com

Ralph Jersild Jr.Donovan T. Kelly

Law Office of Maureen McCormmachGeorgia Lickness

James M. LutzTerry L. Maltarich

Media Workshop, Inc.Douglas Nash

Northland Native American ProductsAndrew F. Pooler

Ross RacineJessica Lea Ryan

S & T Office Products, Inc.Alicia Smith

Woodland Indian Crafts

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2004 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETSCASH 1,562,087.06FIXED INCOME 6,757,843.93EQUITIES 13,818,671.24INTEREST RECEIVABLE 58,234.00PLEDGES/GRANTS/ACCT RECEIVABLE 100,000.00PREPAID EXPENSE 33,460.78TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 22,330,297.01

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENTLAND 43,125.00BUILDING & IMPROVEMENTS 373,821.89ACC. DEPRECIATION - B/I (36,266.43)FURNITURE AND FIXTURES 22,648.17ACC. DEPRECIATION - F/F (7,893.80)EQUIPMENT 105,433.59ACC. DEPRECIATION - EQUIPMENT (73,901.40)TOTAL PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT 426,967.02

OTHER ASSETSTOTAL OTHER ASSETS 0.00

TOTAL ASSETS 22,757,264.03

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

CURRENT LIABILITIESACCOUNTS PAYABLE 34,298.04GRANTS PAYABLE - CURRENT 455,388.00ACCRUED PAYROLL 7,398.37PAYROLL TAXES PAYABLE 5,843.43DEFERRED REVENUE 100,000.00TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 602,927.84

LONG-TERM LIABILITIESGRANTS PAYABLE - LT 822,149.00TOTAL LONG-TERM LIABILITIES 822,149.00

TOTAL LIABILITIES 1,425,076.84

NET ASSETSUNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS 21,160,913.22NET INCOME 171,273.97TOTAL NET ASSETS 21,332,187.19

TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS 22,757,264.03

REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES

RevenuesFundraising Income 18,457.11 Grants & Awards 229,800.00 Interest and Investment Income 2,739,702.95 Other Income 156,567.09 Total Revenue 3,144,527.15

ExpendituresSalaries/Taxes/Benefits 585,569.19 Grants & Allocations 1,738,105.00 Grant Program Costs 87,870.16 Community Involvement 750.00 Investment Costs 100,083.00 Audit/Legal/Consulting 41,677.98 Communication 16,044.81 Board Expenses 50,493.30 Meetings/Travel 65,353.89 Fundraising Activities 42,635.64 General Office Expenses 39,787.17 Fiscal Agency Payments 153,854.38 Depreciation 51,028.66 Total Expenditures 2,973,253.18

Revenue over Expenditures 171,273.97

11www.indianlandtenure.org

INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION151 East County Road B2Little Canada, MN 55117-1523Phone: 651-766-8999Fax: 651-766-0012info@indianlandtenure.org

www.indianlandtenure.orgDesigned by Catherine Whipple