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Inside Trust Fund XP
IIM Trust Integrated With Internet ExplorerBy Brian Tokes
Tomorrow Staff Writer
Monday, November 12, 2001 MICROSOFT CAMPUS, REDMOND, WASH. - Mona Infield couldn't be prouder of what she calls her "baby." And after spending the last seven days overseeing a team of 36 hand-picked programmers work non-stop, she is ready to give birth to a beta version of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust her company, Microsoft Corp., has produced. "It's been a lot of hard work," said Infield, a 42-year-old member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma, surveying her army of drones as they put the system through its paces. "And without [former Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs] Hilda Manuel browbeating me all the time, it's so much easier to do my job." Her task, assigned by another iron fist better known as Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, is to do what the federal government has been unable to despite numerous promises, pledges and more than $700 million in taxpayer dollars. Fix the broken trust fund. It sounds like rocket science but to Infield, whose first programming job back in the late 1970s was coding Space Invaders in FORTRAN, it's been an "invigorating experience." To that end, Infield offered Indian Country Tomorrow an exclusive first-hand glimpse into the effort, giving Indian beneficiaries and Bureau of Indian Affairs regional offices a preview of what they will see when Trust Fund XP arrives at their computer screens very soon now. A Fully Integrated Trust
Microsoft has applied fresh and innovative technologies to create a fully integrated Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS) said Infield. From data cleanup to probate, TAAMS XP manages the IIM trust through its impressive suite of products like Internet Explorer, Excel and Minesweeper, she said. Critics, however, say this "bundling" allows Microsoft to monopolize all aspects of the Indian trust, preventing competitors from offering products that could do a better job. "We'll never get to prove our version of TAAMS works," said Artesia System Group President David Orr, acknowledging his company's version of TAAMS doesn't work. And since Microsoft owns all the source code -- and thus, all the expertise -- Gates and Infield are "holding the government hostage," charged Orr. "What's to prevent them from giving up one day and running away to a condo in Barbados, bringing disaster upon the government, who doesn't even have a contigency plan for this kind of scenario, which they've known about for years?" he said. Infield scoffed at the charges. "We've entered into a very flexible agreement with the government whereby they continue to pay us money and we keep working on the system," she said. "Hold on, let me make a quick change to the land title portion of TAAMS." An Accurate Historical Accounting
Thanks to the innovative work of a group of college students (See "MIT Students Fix Trust Fund," Indian Country Tomorrow, April 1, 2001), an accurate, historical accounting can be performed using Hearts (found in the Windows Games folder) and the Calculator (Accessories), said Infield. "It's quite beautiful, actually," beamed Infield. "It turns out the way the government allotted land was just like dealing a deck of cards. So we just let Hearts run and it's a pretty accurate description of what has happened since 1887." Through the algorithm, Infield said Microsoft has provided an accounting for more than 10,000 Indian beneficiaries over the past two weeks. The rest should be complete by spring 2002, just in time for Mini-Mitzun, she added. When asked why the account of Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit against the government, has more than 10 times the amount of assets than the rest combined, Infield reminded ICT the syatem is still in its "beta" phase. "We're still working out the kinks," she said. "Oh look, Elouise's account just 'shot the moon' again!" 'Really Cool Toys'
But what really brings twinkles to Infield's eyes are the new tools that make being an account holder "really fun," she said. All beneficiaries have been given a Microsoft Passport, said Infield, referring to the technology called anti-competitive by many in the computer industry. This will allow them to use such other fine Microsoft products as Excel and Money to manage their assets, she said. "And if they don't know how to use the products, we'll provide low-cost, two-year training classes at Microsoft-approved tribal colleges everywhere," said Infield. But the system doesn't end there, said Infield, Beneficiaries can access the Internet using the Microsoft Network, store their money at Microsoft-approved financial institutions and spend all of it at Microsoft-approved web sites, she said. When asked how this was any different from the type of intimidation and strong-arming thas has been alleged at the Department of Interior, Infield had no comment. |
© 2001-2002 Indian Country Tomorrow
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