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Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians

September 23, 2020
BJL Associates has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide High-Speed Digitization and Processing of Scanned documents for DOI/Office of Trust, AIRR Records. BJL Associates will deploy their BJL|ai processing workflow which utilizes enhanced OCR, handwriting identification, metadata, XML, data extraction, QC1/QC2, employs DOI business rules, and provides audit & reporting requirements. The final deliverable in a more superior PDF/A.

A picture of the logo for the special trustee for america.

OST

The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) will use this contract to perform services that can analyze, digitize, develop and manage a large-scale digitization effort at the AIRR facility with the support and management of AIRR designated Program or Project Manager. The effort will include the digitization of records, development of appropriate processes, training, technical support for scanners, software development, database management, web site development and maintenance, consulting support on Tribal relations and executive leadership, program and project management services and other related services.

Background

The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians has the responsibility for managing trust records. This includes providing training, guidance, and assistance to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs, and, to some extent, tribes. It involves developing policies and procedures for managing trust records and providing training and technical assistance on records management. It also includes operating the American Indian Records Repository (AIRR), an underground trust records storage facility in Lenexa, Kansas.

The GOAL:

  • Have over a billion trust records available for electronic research and review;
  • Collect records electronically from scheduled systems instead of generating duplicative paper records (eliminating print and file for electronic born records);
  • Allow controlled sharing and management of records between agencies in an agile manner without costly contractor support;
  • Retain and manage electronic records for easily retrievable information;
  • Enable a common user experience, integrated and accessible data, and data security by leveraging the latest advancements in technology;
  • Eliminate burdensome manual collections and reporting requirements, while improving the quality and integrity of these electronic records;
  • Have the ability for tribes to access their trust records online, a historical first, supporting tribal sovereignty; and,
  • Reduce costs and improve efficiency across OST, BIA and BIE.