Medical Assistance for People Who Are Age 65 or Older or People Who Are Blind or Have a Disability

2.3.3.2.7.13 Tribal Payments and Interests

Many federal statutes provide an asset exclusion for certain interests held by and payments made to members of tribes and groups. Some statutes address interests and payments to specific tribes while others address certain types of interests and payments. This section explains how to count these interests and payments.

Individual Interests in Trust or Restricted Lands

The interests of individual tribal members in trust or restricted lands are excluded (P.L. 103-66 § 13736; 25 USC § 1408).

Per Capita Distributions of Funds Held in Trust

Per capita distributions of all funds held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior to members of an Indian tribe are excluded (P.L. 98-64).

Any local tribal funds that a tribe distributes to individual tribal members on a per capita basis, but which have not been held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior, are not excluded under this provision.

Tribal Land Settlements or Judgments

American Indian tribal land settlements and judgment funds that are held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior or distributed per capita pursuant to a plan prepared by the Secretary of the Interior (P.L. 93-134; P.L. 97-458) are excluded.

Certain Assets owned by American Indians

Excluded assets for American Indians, in addition to items excluded under the general provisions, include:

Real property that is located on Indian land, or land held in trust, subject to restriction or supervision by the Secretary of the Interior. Indian land includes:
- A federally recognized reservation, pueblo or colony
- Former reservations located in Oklahoma
- Alaska Native regions established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
- Indian allotments on or near a reservation as designated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior
- Property located within the most recent boundaries of a prior federal reservation
Ownership interests in rents, leases, royalties, or usage rights related to natural resources (extraction of natural resources, harvesting timber, plants, animals, fish and shellfish)
Ownership interests in or usage rights to items that have unique religious, spiritual, traditional, or cultural significance or rights that support subsistence or a traditional lifestyle according to tribal law or custom.

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Payments

The following items received from a native corporation pursuant to Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) (P.L. 100-241) are excluded:

Cash received from a native corporation (including cash dividends on stock received from a native corporation) to the extent it does not exceed $2,000 per person per year
Stock (including stock issued or distributed by a native corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock)
A partnership interest
Land or an interest in land (including land received from a native corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock)
An interest in a settlement trust

Cobell Settlement for American Indians

Cobell Settlement payments made to American Indians are excluded income in the month received and as an asset for one year from the date of receipt. Payments are excluded regardless of whether they are issued as lump sums or periodic payments.

This exclusion applies for 12 months beginning with the month of receipt and applies to all members of the household.

The verbal or written statement of a person regarding the date and amount of the excluded settlement payment are accepted.

Tribal Gaming Revenues

Per capita distributions of gaming revenues (casino profits) count as unearned income in the month received and as an asset in the following months.

Legal Citations

United States Code, title 25, section 1407

United States Code, title 25, section 1408