Deadline Nears for Heirs to Claim $38 Million in Unclaimed Indian Trust Funds

Deadline Nears for Heirs to Claim $38 Million in Unclaimed Indian Trust Funds

By Miami News-Digest  |  June 2, 2025

MIAMI, Okla. — Heirs of more than 17,000 deceased Native American account holders have until June 30 to claim a share of over $38 million in unawarded trust funds from the landmark Cobell v. Salazar settlement.

The funds are held in Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts belonging to individuals whose heirs were never identified or paid after the federal government was found to have mismanaged more than 300,000 tribal trust accounts in a class-action lawsuit settled in 2009.

According to William Dorris, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs, more than 4,100 of those accounts belong to deceased members from Oklahoma, representing over $7 million in available compensation.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for families to recover funds that rightfully belong to them,” Dorris said. “But they must act before the deadline.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior is encouraging tribal citizens to search for their family names and check claim status through the Office of the Special Trustee. To check whether your family is listed, visit:

The 2009 settlement awarded $1.4 billion in payments to account holders and allocated another $2 billion to the federal buy-back of fractionated tribal land. Still, thousands of accounts were left unpaid due to missing heir documentation.

To claim funds, heirs must provide documentation verifying their relationship to the deceased account holder. All claims must be submitted before the June 30, 2025 deadline.

For help, contact the Office of the Special Trustee at 1-888-678-6836 or visit your local tribal government office.

Editor’s note: This article is intended for informational purposes only. Individuals seeking to claim funds should consult the official Department of the Interior resources.

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