United States v Sioux Nation of Indians

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=DOI-BIA-2022-001908&type=request)

* Tracking Number: DOI-BIA-2022-001908
* Requester Name:
Cully Williams
* Date Submitted: 02/03/2022
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

(This is not a new request. This is a duplicate of a request submitted to ots@bia.gov that has to-date went unaswered.)

In 1980, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling (formally described as United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980)) in which a lump of money was issued to the "Sioux Nation of Indians" as Fifth Amendment compensation in exchange for the theft of the Black Hills. They refused the money on grounds that accepting it would give validity to a sale, and several news sources have described the funds as still sitting in the Treasury, apparently accumulating interest. As recently as 2011, PBS reports that this amount is $1.3Bn. After having contacted the Treasury, they report no such funds but that I should inquire with BIA's Office of Trust Services as a potential next step.

This request is simple, and two parts. Firstly, what is the current value of these funds? Secondly, on what report or published document is this total described so that I can find the sum in future endeavors without needing to go through a FOIA process?

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Cully Williams

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

The FOIA request DOI-BIA-2022-001908 has had its Tracking Number changed to DOI-ASIA-2022-001908. This is normally due to the request being transferred to another agency (for example, EPA to Dept. of Commerce) or to a sub-agency to process it. Additional details for this request are as follows:

* Old Tracking Number:
DOI-BIA-2022-001908
* New Tracking Number:
DOI-ASIA-2022-001908
* Requester Name:
Cully Williams
* Date Submitted:
02/03/2022
* Long Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

(This is not a new request. This is a duplicate of a request submitted to ots@bia.gov that has to-date went unaswered.)

In 1980, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling (formally described as United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980)) in which a lump of money was issued to the "Sioux Nation of Indians" as Fifth Amendment compensation in exchange for the theft of the Black Hills. They refused the money on grounds that accepting it would give validity to a sale, and several news sources have described the funds as still sitting in the Treasury, apparently accumulating interest. As recently as 2011, PBS reports that this amount is $1.3Bn. After having contacted the Treasury, they report no such funds but that I should inquire with BIA's Office of Trust Services as a potential next step.

This request is simple, and two parts. Firstly, what is the current value of these funds? Secondly, on what report or published document is this total described so that I can find the sum in future endeavors without needing to go through a FOIA process?

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Cully Williams

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

April 22 2022

IN REPLY REFER TO:
DOI-ASIA-2022-001908

Cully Williams
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 124342 411A Highland Ave
Somerville, Massachusetts 02144-2516
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com

Dear Mr. Cully Williams:

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (AS-IA) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office received your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request(s), dated February 03, 2022, on April 21, 2022, and your requests were assigned control numbers DOI-ASIA-2022-001908. Please cite the control number in any future communications with our office regarding these requests.

In your request you have requested the following: “I hereby request the following records:
(This is not a new request. This is a duplicate of a request submitted to ots@bia.gov that has to-date went unaswered.)

In 1980, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling (formally described as United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980)) in which a lump of money was issued to the "Sioux Nation of Indians" as Fifth Amendment compensation in exchange for the theft of the Black Hills. They refused the money on grounds that accepting it would give validity to a sale, and several news sources have described the funds as still sitting in the Treasury, apparently accumulating interest. As recently as 2011, PBS reports that this amount is $1.3Bn. After having contacted the Treasury, they report no such funds but that I should inquire with BIA's Office of Trust Services as a potential next step.

This request is simple, and two parts. Firstly, what is the current value of these funds? Secondly, on what report or published document is this total described so that I can find the sum in future endeavors without needing to go through a FOIA process?

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.”

We have classified you as a representative of the news media. As such, we may charge you for some of our duplication costs, but we will not charge you for our search or review costs; you also are entitled to up to 100 pages of photocopies (or an equivalent volume) for free. See 43 C.F.R. § 2.39. If, after taking into consideration your fee category entitlements, our processing costs are less than $50.00, we will not bill you because the cost of collection would be greater than the fee collected. See 43 C.F.R. § 2.37(g).

You have agreed to pay up to $200.00 for the processing of your request. If we find that this will not cover the cost of processing your request, we will stop processing your request at the point this amount has been reached and will let you know before we incur additional charges. You can then either agree to pay the additional amount needed or narrow the scope of your request.

The FOIA requires that requests describe the records sought with sufficient detail to allow an agency employee familiar with the subject area of the request to locate the records with a reasonable amount of effort. Your request does not adequately describe the records sought but rather asks questions. If you wish to pursue your request, please describe the records you seek sufficiently to enable a professional employee familiar with the subject to locate the existing records with a reasonable effort. You will need to provide in order to reasonably describe the records being sought, for example: (1) the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject of any particular records sought; (2) the office that created the records sought; and/or (3) the timeframe for which the requester is seeking records.

According to our regulations, if we do not receive your written response clarifying what records you are looking for within 20 workdays from the date of this communication, we will presume that you are no longer interested in pursuing your request. In such a circumstance, we will not be able to comply with your request and will close our file on it. See 43 C.F.R. § 2.5(d). You may seek assistance from the designated FOIA contact or FOIA Requester Center at https://www.doi.gov/foia/foiacenters.

You may appeal this response to the Department’s FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer. If you choose to appeal, the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer must receive your FOIA appeal no later than 90 workdays from the date of this response. Appeals arriving or delivered after 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, will be deemed received on the next workday.

Your appeal must be made in writing. You may submit your appeal and accompanying materials to the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer by mail, courier service, fax, or email. All communications concerning your appeal should be clearly marked with the words: "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL." You must include an explanation of why you believe this response is in error. You must also include with your appeal copies of all correspondence between you and the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (AS-IA) FOIA office concerning your FOIA request, including your original FOIA request and this response. Failure to include with your appeal all correspondence between you and the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (AS-IA) FOIA office will result in the Department's rejection of your appeal, unless the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer determines (in the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer’s sole discretion) that good cause exists to accept the defective appeal.

Please include your name and daytime telephone number (or the name and telephone number of an appropriate contact), email address and fax number (if available) in case the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer needs additional information or clarification of your appeal.

DOI FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office Contact Information

Department of the Interior
Office of the Solicitor
1849 C Street, N.W. MS-6556 MIB
Washington, DC 20240

Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office

Telephone: (202) 208-5339
Fax: (202) 208-6677
Email: FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov

If you have any questions about our response to your request, you may contact Heather Garcia by phone at 202-208-3135, by email at as-ia_foia@bia.gov or by mail at 1849 C Street, NW, Office 4660 MIB, Washington, DC 20240.

Sincerely,

/S/ Justin Davis
FOIA Officer
Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs

Heather Garcia
​​​​Government Information Specialist
Assistant Secretary- Indian Affairs - FOIA Office
1849 C Street NW MS-4146-MIB
Washington, DC 20240
Phone# (202)208-3135
Work Cell# (202)672-4016
heather.garcia@bia.gov<mailto:heather.garcia@bia.gov>
POSITIVE PEOPLE POWERFUL RESULTS

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office in the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs are continuing to process FOIA requests to the best of their ability during the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep employees healthy and safe, the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs is maximizing telework flexibility and employing social distancing protocols. As a result of these precautions, most employees are working remotely and unable to collect hard copy records located in government facilities at this time. If your request is for hard copy records, the response to your request will very likely be delayed.

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Dear Cully Williams <requests@muckrock.com>,
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Dear Cully Williams,

Thank you for your email. This request has been closed in May 2022.

You may re-submit your request through the Department's FOIA Public Access Link at: https://foiaxpresspal.doi.gov/ (account required) or at www.FOIA.gov<http://www.foia.gov/>.

Thank you,

Thank you for your email.

You may submit your request through the Department's FOIA Public Access Link at: https://foiaxpresspal.doi.gov/ (account required) or at www.FOIA.gov<http://www.foia.gov/><http://www.foia.gov/>.

Thank you