威尼斯人娱乐场

Bureau of Indian Affairs Records: Tribal Rolls

The U.S. Government has never created a list of all people who have Native American ancestry.

However, historically the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) created numerous rolls (lists) of American Indians and Alaska Natives to identify members of federally recognized tribes and bands, including Freedmen.

The 威尼斯人娱乐场 and Records Administration (NARA) has many of these historical rolls in Record Group 75.

Historical tribal rolls can include names, tribal affiliations, ages, family relations, residences, and more.

Because the purposes of the rolls vary, the information they provide also varies.

Records Overview

Select types of historical tribal rolls are listed below, along with examples of specific series in Record Group 75 that contain these rolls.

However, please note that the BIA created rolls as a result of allotments, legislation, removals, treaties, and other activities. The agency often created additional documentation from the information in these rolls, sometimes using the same rolls for multiple purposes. As a result, the roll types listed here are not mutually exclusive.

For the full archival records descriptions in the , please click on the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifiers provided. For questions related to a particular series, please contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 research facility indicated.

Additional series of historical tribal rolls can be identified by searching the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Catalog. Learn more about using the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Catalog

Allotment Rolls

Land allotment refers to the historical federal policy of dividing American Indian reservations and communally held tribal lands into parcels to be distributed to individuals. Although the U.S. Government allotted land to American Indians through treaties as early as 1798, the General Allotment Act (also known as the Dawes Act) of 1887 made land allotment the government鈥檚 official policy.

The BIA was the primary federal agency responsible for administering the land allotment process, although it worked closely with the General Land Office to obtain land surveys and patents. BIA officials created lists to document who was eligible to receive a land allotment and to keep track of which parcel an individual received. These lists are called 鈥渁llotment rolls.鈥�

Allotment rolls typically provide an allottee鈥檚 name, select personal information about them (e.g., age, sex, relationship in the family), and the legal description of the land allotted. In some instances, individuals were required to apply for an allotment, so related applications with additional information may be available. Learn more about BIA allotment records

Examples

• Kickapoo Agency: 鈥淎llotment Rolls, 1865鈥�1921鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Kansas City with questions about these records.
• Mission Agency: 鈥淎llotment Rolls and Other Papers, 1927鈥�1948鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • This series is digitized in the .
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Riverside with questions about these records.
• Uintah and Ouray Agency: 鈥淎llotment Rolls, 1897鈥�1905鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Denver with questions about these records.

Annuity Rolls

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Excerpt from the April 14, 1941, annuity roll for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 1949676)

Some treaties between the U.S. Government and American Indian nations specified that the government would provide periodic payments to the signatory tribes, typically as compensation for the tribes ceding their lands to the United States. These payments were called 鈥渁nnuities鈥� because they were usually distributed on an annual or other regular basis. Some treaties specified that payments had to be made in money, while others specified goods or a combination of money and goods. Additionally, some treaties specified the length of time that the government committed to making payments.

The BIA created lists of individuals eligible to receive annuity payments. These historical lists are called 鈥渁nnuity rolls鈥� or sometimes 鈥渁nnuity payment rolls.鈥� Annuity rolls typically provide basic information about eligible annuity recipients, such as their name, age, sex, and relationship to the head of household. However, the information provided varies by roll.

The BIA often made multiple copies of annuity rolls: one for the local BIA field office, another for the BIA headquarters, and another for the Treasury Department (later, the General Accounting Office). BIA headquarters copies are held by the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC. BIA field office copies are held by the 威尼斯人娱乐场 research facility serving the state in which the field office was located. See Navigating Record Group 75 for a list.

Examples

• BIA Headquarters: 鈥淎nnuity Payment Rolls, 1841鈥�1949鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• Crow Agency: 鈥淎nnuity Payrolls, 1892鈥�1898鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Denver with questions about these records.
• Klamath Agency: 鈥淎nnuity and Per Capita Payrolls, 1906鈥�1958鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Seattle with questions about these records.
• Osage Agency: 鈥淎nnuity Rolls, 1870鈥�1966鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Osage Annuity Rolls for 1878鈥�1907 are available on microfilm 7RA-35.
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Fort Worth with questions about these records.

Census Rolls

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Page 1 of the Census Rolls of Indians on the Flathead Reservation (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 246949871)

Between 1885 and 1940, the BIA took annual censuses of American Indians who were formally affiliated with federally recognized tribes. These censuses, which were congressionally mandated, are known as the Indian Census Rolls, and they can provide such personal information as an individual鈥檚 name (American Indian and/or English), sex, age, and tribal affiliation.

However, the BIA also took censuses of specific tribes at other times for other reasons. The information gathered on these historical censuses varies depending on the time period and the reason for the census. The BIA sometimes maintained these censuses in their own series, but at other times, the censuses are interfiled among larger series of correspondence or related records.

Examples

• BIA Headquarters: 鈥淐ensus Rolls, 1815鈥�1869鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• BIA Headquarters: 鈥淓astern Cherokee Census Rolls, 1835鈥�1884鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • This series is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M1773, and M1773 is digitized in the .
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• BIA Headquarters: 鈥淚rregularly Shaped Papers, 1849鈥�1907鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Select files relating to tribal censuses include:
    • 鈥淪hawnee Cherokee orphans rolls for census 1856鈥�59 and 1863鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
    • 鈥淐ensus of Lake Traverse Reserve [29880-1886]鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
    • 鈥淩eports, printed briefs, and petitions, census roll (1890) and other material concerning the relinquishment of land by the Turtle Mountain Chippewas (An 1892 census roll is included in one of the printed items). [20009-1896]鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
    • 鈥淐hippewa Census Rolls [36609-1889, 6768-1890]鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
    • 鈥淐ensus by William Parsons of the Oneidas of the Green Bay Agency whose ancestors were on the roll of 1838 [24352-1889]鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
    • 鈥淐ensus of the Fox Indians at Tama, Iowa [22791-1884]鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• BIA Headquarters: 鈥淐ensus Rolls Relating to Flathead Enrollment, 1903鈥�1908鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • This series is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M1350, and M1350 is digitized in the .
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• Juneau Area Office: 鈥淰illage Census Rolls, 1935鈥�1972鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • This series is partially digitized in the .
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Seattle with questions about these records.

Judgment Rolls

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Page 1 of the Annotated California Judgment Roll Authorized in 1928 (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 57140147)

At times, the U.S. Court of Claims and the Indian Claims Commission ruled in favor of American Indian nations who sued the U.S. Government for monetary damages. When Congress appropriated funds for these judgment awards, BIA and Department of the Interior officials created lists of individuals eligible to receive a portion of the award. These historical lists are known as 鈥渏udgment rolls.鈥�

As with other rolls, judgment rolls typically include basic information about an individual, including their name, age, sex, and tribal affiliation. Often, individuals applied to the BIA for inclusion on the roll, so related applications with additional information may be available.

Examples

• 鈥淕uion Miller Report and Exhibits, 1908鈥�1910鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • This series includes the Guion Miller Roll, which lists individuals eligible to receive a share of a judgment award that the U.S. Court of Claims issued in 1905 in favor of the Eastern Cherokee.
  • The Guion Miller Roll is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M685, and M685 is digitized on multiple websites. See Guion Miller Roll: How to Access the Records for more information.
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• 鈥淎nnotated California Judgment Roll Authorized in 1928, 1930鈥揷a. 1964鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • An act of Congress of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), authorized the attorney general of California to file a case in the U.S. Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California for benefits they would have received under 18 treaties negotiated with the United States. To determine who was eligible to share in any favorable judgment from the court, the act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to create two census rolls: 1) a census of California Indians living in the state on June 1, 1852, and their descendants living in the state on May 18, 1928; and 2) a census of Indians living in California on May 18, 1928, who were not of California Indian descent. Learn more about California Indian Judgment Rolls and Applications
  • This series contains both census rolls, as well as a roll of rejected applicants. The series is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M1853, and M1853 is digitized on (database titled 鈥溾��).
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at San Francisco with questions about these records.
  • An index to the 1928 California judgment roll is digitized in the .

Removal Rolls

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Register of Cherokee Indians Who Have Emigrated to the West of the Mississippi (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 595556)

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 (4 Stat. 411) authorized the President to negotiate removal treaties with American Indian nations living east of the Mississippi River. The goal was to remove Native Americans living in existing states and territories and send them west so that their lands would be available for settlers.

Removal proceeded differently for different tribes, but government officials typically created lists of Native Americans who were subject to removal. These historical lists can collectively be called 鈥渞emoval rolls,鈥� but they are often called 鈥渕uster rolls鈥� or 鈥渆migration rolls鈥� in the records. Removal rolls vary in the level of detail they provide about individual Native Americans. For example, some removal rolls only list heads of household by name.

Examples

• 鈥淐herokee Emigration Rolls, 1817鈥�1838鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• 鈥淐ensus Roll Concerning Choctaw Removal, 1831鈥�1831鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • Also known as the Armstrong Roll
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
• 鈥淢uster Rolls Concerning Indian Removal, 1832鈥�1846鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: )
  • This series is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M1831, and M1831 is digitized in the .
  • Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.

Tribal Enrollment Today

American Indian and Alaska Native nations manage their own enrollment processes today. Each nation determines its own criteria for tribal citizenship and maintains its own enrollment records.

NARA is not involved in enrolling tribal citizens or determining eligibility for tribal citizenship. The BIA is only rarely involved in tribal enrollment today. See the Department of the Interior's  page for more information.