What are individual Indian money (IIM) trust accounts?
Individual Indian trusts originated mainly in the late 1800s, when the federal government tried to assimilate Indians into the economy by allotting them parcels of land to “work.” This was also a way to break up the reservations. In time, when it appeared Indians were not taking up farming and ranching to the extent the federal government intended, the government began to work with individual Indian land owners to lease the land and pass the revenues to them through IIM accounts. Today, some of the descendants of the original owners still receive payments through these accounts for the use of the trust land. Both tribal and individual Indian trust account holders may withdraw their assets and funds from trust status. Many Indian owners choose to keep their assets in trust because of tax or other benefits. 3. How much money is in IIM accounts today? Today, Interior manages approximately ten million acres of individual Indian trust land and collects and distributes approximately $302 mil
