Record Group 48: Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior
The 威尼斯人娱乐场 houses historical records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior in Record Group 48. These records include correspondence, reports, litigation case files, maps, and other materials related to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Agency Overview
Congress established the Department of the Interior on March 3, 1849 (9 Stat. 395), to oversee certain domestic functions and activities of the federal government. The newly created position of Secretary of the Interior was charged with leading the Department and given responsibility over the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA), among other federal agencies.
Indian Division
Initially, the Office of the Secretary of the Interior had a clerk who handled the Secretary's correspondence pertaining to Indian affairs and maintained related records.
In 1870, a formal Indian Division was established within the Secretary鈥檚 Office. The Indian Division handled matters referred to the Secretary by the OIA as well as duties relating to Indian affairs that Congress specifically assigned to the Secretary of the Interior. The latter included approving deeds, patents, leases, census rolls, land allotment schedules, and contracts, as well as authorizing individual expenditures, making recommendations on depredations claims, and acting as trustee for Indian trust funds.
The Indian Division was abolished in 1907 during an administrative reorganization. Thereafter, the Secretary鈥檚 Office maintained records relating to Indian affairs in general series of correspondence files.
Indian Territory Division
Indian Territory encompassed the lands of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole), Quapaw, Wyandot, Seneca, Peoria, Miami, Ottawa, Eastern Shawnee, and Modoc in present-day eastern Oklahoma. On June 28, 1898, Congress passed the Curtis Act (30 Stat. 495), which solidified federal control over Indian Territory by undermining tribal sovereignty. Specifically, the act abolished tribal courts in Indian Territory and declared that U.S. courts would not enforce tribal laws passed on or after the date of the act. The act also charged the Dawes Commission with preparing citizenship rolls for the Five Civilized Tribes as part of the land allotment process.
In response, the Secretary of the Interior established the Indian Territory Division on July 25, 1898. The division was tasked with overseeing 鈥渁ll business relating to the Indian Territory and the Five Civilized Tribes鈥� except matters relating to appointments and finances. The division thus handled correspondence and maintained records on behalf of the Secretary related to deeds, patents, tribal acts, rolls, and other matters in Indian Territory.
The Indian Territory Division was abolished in 1907 during an administrative reorganization. Thereafter, the Secretary鈥檚 Office maintained records relating to Oklahoma and the Five Civilized Tribes in the series, 鈥淐entral Classified Files, 1907鈥�1972鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier ).
Office of the Solicitor
The Office of the Solicitor performed all legal work for the Department of the Interior. In addition to the legal work directly concerned with the programs and activities of the Department, the Office of the Solicitor also handled matters relating to torts and other claims, inventions by personnel of the Department, and appeals to the Secretary of the Interior in public land proceedings and Indian probate matters.
Records Overview
Textual Records
Textual records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior are housed at different 威尼斯人娱乐场 research facilities, depending on the division or office that maintained the records.
Select series are listed below. For the full archival records descriptions in the , please click on the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifiers provided.
Records of the Indian Division
Records of the Indian Division are housed at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at College Park, MD. Contact the Textual Reference Branch at archives2reference@nara.gov with questions about the records.
- 鈥淟etters Received, 1849鈥�1880鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- This series is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M825. The microfilm is available online through .
- 鈥淟etters Sent, 1849鈥�1903鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- This series is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M606. This microfilm is available online through .
- 鈥淪pecial Files, 1849鈥�1907鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- This series is partially digitized in the .
- 鈥淚nspection Reports of Field Jurisdictions, 1880鈥�1907鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- Reports from 1880 to 1900 are microfilmed as NARA Microfilm Publication M1070.
- M1070 is fully digitized in the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Catalog; see 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier .
For additional series maintained by the Indian Division, see the Division鈥檚 organization authority record in the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Catalog (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier ).
Records of the Indian Territory Division
Records of the Indian Territory Division are housed at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at College Park, MD. Contact the Textual Reference Branch at archives2reference@nara.gov with questions about the records.
- 鈥淔inal Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1899鈥�1914鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- This series is microfilmed as NARA Microfilm Publication T529. This microfilm is fully digitized in the .
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鈥淟etters Received, 1898鈥�1907鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
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鈥淟etters Sent, 1898鈥�1907鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
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鈥淪pecial Files, 1898鈥�1907鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
For additional series maintained by the Indian Territory Division, see the Division鈥檚 organization authority record in the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Catalog (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier ).
Records of the Office of the Solicitor
Records of the Office of the Solicitor are housed at different 威尼斯人娱乐场 research facilities, depending on the location of the specific office.
- Office of the Solicitor (Headquarters): 鈥淥klahoma Indian Court Files, 1942鈥�1950鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at College Park, MD, with questions about these records.
- Office of the Regional Solicitor, Alaska: 鈥淚ndian Land Administration Claim Files, 1971鈥�1991鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- These records are fully digitized and available in the .
- Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Seattle with questions about these records.
- Office of the Regional Solicitor, Los Angeles (California): 鈥淟itigation Case Files Relating to Indian Irrigation Projects, 1948鈥�1957鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- Contact the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at Riverside with questions about these records.
For additional series maintained by the Office of the Solicitor, see the Office鈥檚 organization authority record in the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Catalog (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier ).
Cartographic Records
The Cartographic Branch at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at College Park, MD, houses maps maintained by the Office of the Secretary of the Interior related to American Indian lands and reservations.
Select series are listed below. For the full archival records descriptions in the , please click on the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifiers provided. For questions about these records, please contact the Cartographic Branch at carto@nara.gov.
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鈥淕eneral Maps and Plans for a Transcontinental Railroad, 1849鈥�1858鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
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鈥淢aps and Plans Relating to Government Reservations, 1871鈥�1907鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
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鈥淢aps Relating to States and Territories, 1875鈥�1914鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
Photographs and Graphic Works
The Still Picture Branch at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 at College Park, MD, houses select photographs maintained by the Office of the Secretary of the Interior related to Indian affairs. Often these photographs are interfiled among larger series documenting Department of Interior activities.
Examples are listed below. For the full archival records descriptions in the , please click on the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifiers provided. For questions about these records, please contact the Still Picture Branch at stillpix@nara.gov.
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鈥淧hotographs Accompanying Reports to the Secretary of the Interior, 1887鈥�1930鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
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鈥淐entral Photographic Assignment Files Documenting the Secretary鈥檚 Activities, and Agency Events, Programs, and Officials, 1971鈥�2005鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- 鈥淧hotographs Relating to the Secretary鈥檚 Trips, Speeches, and Other Functions, and Agency Officials, Events, and Managed Sites, 2005鈥�2013鈥� (威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier )
- The series is fully available in the .