Beginning Native American Research

Below you will find a lecture given in our forum by Karen Pfister on staring your research

There are many places to look for Native American Ancestors. The best places are in your own home, talking to the elderly, friends of the family, and your parents. If and when that fails, there are other places to look. Listed below are a few of the tools that I use. In working with Native American Roots, one must remember that all were put on some kind of roll. These rolls were kept by the United States Of America Government, and the Tribes themselves.

There are Branches of the National Archives that have custody of the Records which were created by field offices of THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. The Bureau relates to more than 60 Indian Tribes, which were relocated from various parts of the United States into the area which is now Oklahoma. The records and rolls relate primarily to matters and management of Tribal and individual resources, but may contain information about persons who were recognized by the Federal Government as a member of a tribe and who maintained some formal affiliation with that tribe. Many persons with some degree of Indian Blood are not mentioned in any of these records because they were not officially recognized as a tribal member or they severed their tribal connections by moving away from the bulk of their tribe. Here are a few of the places you can send for information. To find out about Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood, eligibility for benefits based on Indian ancestry or the status of allotted land, write to: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS , MUSKOGEE AREA OFFICE MUSKOGEE , OK. 74401

For brief histories of Tribes which were removed to Oklahoma, see A GUIDE TO THE INDIAN TRIBES OF OKLAHOMA by Muriel H Wright.
A GUIDE TO RECORDS IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES RELATING TO AMERICAN INDIANS can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC 20402. I am going to list some of the other places that you can purchase the records yourself.

The records listed below have been microfilmed for preservation purposes and to facilitate reference. Microfilm beginning with a "M" or "T" number can only be purchased from the National Archives Publication Sales Branch (NEPS ), Washington DC 20408. You can buy these rolls for a fee of $23.00 per roll.

Microfilm beginning with "7 RA" write to Director, National Archives - Fort Worth Branch, P.O.Box 6216, Fort Worth Texas 76115. These films are $10.00 per roll Here is a list of some of the Rolls that you can purchase.

1835 - Index to the Henderson Roll.  T - 496 roll 1.
1848 - Mullay Roll of Eastern Cherokee. 7 RA-06 roll 1.
1851 - Index to Siler Roll. M-685 roll 12
1851 - Siler Roll of Eastern Cherokee .  7 RA-06 roll 12.
1867-97 - Freedman Rolls and Indexes ( includes Wallace Rolls )
                  7RA-29 rolls 1 & 2
1878-89 - List of claimants and Dockets of the Citizenship
                  Commission.  7RA-25 Roll 1-4.
1890  - Payment Roll 7RA-57 rolls 1-3
1894 -  Payment and Index  ( Starr Roll )  7RA-38 rolls 1-5
1893 -  Census (includes Delawares, Shawnees, and Freedmen 
             7RA-54 rolls 1-2
1910 - Payments to Intermarried Whites  7 RA-80 roll 1
These are just some of the Cherokee films.  If you 
would like to know more, you can E-Mail me.

1867  - Census 7RA-73 roll 1
1896 -  Census 7RA-26 roll 1
1904 -  Per Capita payroll 7 RA-26 roll1

1871 - Register of Shawnees admitted to the Cherokee Citizenship
            7RA-74 roll 1
1896 - Census 7 RA-26 roll 1

1868 - Payment Roll 7RA-20 roll 1
1895 - Payment Roll 7 RA-20 roll 11
1897 - Census Roll  7 RA-20 roll 1

1878-1907 - Annuity Rolls 7RA-35 rolls 1-21
1887-1939 - Census Rolls M-595  rolls 317-328

I will list only a few of the Creek rolls . There are as many for 
them as the Cherokee. 
1857 - Old Settlers Roll 7 RA-23 Roll 1
1867 - Dunn Roll of Citizens 7RA-44 roll 1
1869 - Dunn Roll of Freedmen and Indexes 7RA-44 roll 1
1888-1896 -Lists of Applicants and Docket Books of the Creek
                     Citizenship Commission 7 RA-68 Rolls 1-2
1895 - Census ( includes Omitted and Supplemental Rolls )
             7RA-12 roll 1
1904 - Loyal Creek Payment Roll 7RA-31 roll 1

1830 - List of people who remained in Mississippi . 7 RA-116
             roll 1
1896 - List of Applicants and Dockets of the Choctaw -
            Chickasaw Citizenship court . 7 RA - 27 rolls 1-2
1902-1907 - Index to Dawes Rejected (R) Cards 7RA-147
                      roll 1
1902-1907 - Index to Choctaw -Chickasaw Allotment Ledgers 
                      7RA-153 rolls 1-3

1908 - Townsite  Payroll and Index  7RA-107 roll1
1911 - Index and payroll  7 RA-108 roll 1

FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES AGENCY, MUSKOGEE

Cherokee
Seminole 
Creek
Chickasaw 
Choctaw 

KIOWA AGENCY, ANADARKO

Kiowa
Comanche 
Kiowa - Apache
Fort Sill Apache 
Witchita
Delaware
Caddo

CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHO AGENCY, CONCHO

 Cheyenne 
Arapaho

OSAGE AGENCY, PAWHUSKA
Osage

SHAWNEE ANENCY, SHAWNEE

Sac and Fox
Potawatomi
Kickapoo
Iowa
Shawnee

PAWNEE AGENCY, PAWNEE

Pawnee 
Ponca
Otoe and Missouria 
Tonkawa 
Kaw

MIAMI AGENCY, MIAMI

quapaw
Miami
Eastern Shawnee
Ottawa
Peoria, Kaskaskia , Wea, and Piankasaw
Seneca-Cayuga
wyandot

There are many more ways to work on your Native American Ancestors. I hope this gives you a little bit of a place to start. There is a wealth of information out there, through books and the rolls.

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