Sources and Methods for Researching Native American Ancestors - Houston Public ...
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Sources and Methods “How do I find out my great
for Researching Native
grandma’s tribe or enrollment
number?”
American Ancestors Often, someone says call the
tribal offices. Please don’t do
this as your first step. You first
Paula Stuart-Warren, CG®, FMGS, FUGA need to prove your connection
PaulaStuartWarren@gmail.com to great grandma and then her
http://genealogybypaula.com connection to a specific tribe.
Read on and listen for how to
do this.
Grandma said her grandmother was full blood __________.
I know that Grandaunt Maggie was Indian just by looking at
her photo. Great Grandpa Samuel was still alive when I was a little girl and he said they had
Indian blood and lived near the reservation. Oral history is important in pulling together our
family history. Pictures are important. Places of residence are important. Each alone and even
together, these are not proof of your ancestry. Thorough research is needed.
This session covers Native Americans residing in the mainland United States. However, many of
the resources, tips, and analytical reminders will assist with researching Indigenous relatives in
other states, territories, and countries, even some whose residence did go beyond the U.S.
mainland boundaries. The variety of records and accessibility will vary by time period and from
location of your Native American ancestral families.
1. You have checked all these records so you know you are correct?
You have checked all the “regular” historical records everyone should check, right? Federal
and state censuses, land, probate, obituaries, birth, marriage, and death records, church,
divorce, and others online and in courthouses, libraries, historical societies, and archives?
These need to be checked no matter your family’s ethnic background. Then on to determine
the tribe with which your ancestor was affiliated, check online for enrollment guidelines,
and only then contact the tribe directly in regard to membership if enrollment is open.
Need help? There is no one record or set of records that supplies all the details,
relationship, blood degree, or is the one and only suggestion for research. If you are starting
your Native American research, there is much help and records are available. If you have
already been researching, quiz yourself and ask if you have overlooked some records that
could hold answers.
© 2020 by Paula Stuart Warren, CG. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce any of this handout/syllabus
material, presentation, or the lecture slides, including photocopying or electronic means must be obtained in advance.2. Terminology and abbreviations
Individual groups of Native Americans use different labels to describe, politically or
historically, their specific groups: tribe, nation, clan, pueblo, village, community, band,
indigenous, and others. To avoid repeating the list of labels throughout the handout and
presentation, I will use the terms tribe, Native American, and Indian. The terminology used
in a specific record historically may not be kind terms, but we cannot change what was
written at the time.
Agency: BIA or earlier designated “office” overseeing one or more tribes and headed by
an Indian Agent
BIA: Bureau of Indian Affairs
DIA: Department of Indian Affairs
FHL: Family History Library, Salt Lake City
GPS: Genealogical Proof Standard
NARA: U. S. National Archives and Records Administration
OIA: Office of Indian Affairs
RG: Record Group; the way records at NARA are identified
Superintendency: BIA or earlier designated office or school overseeing one or more
tribes
3. Genealogical proof
The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) is a grouping of thoughtful and useful standards
developed by several well-seasoned genealogists under the auspices of the Board for
Certification of Genealogists. These basic principles are perfect for use in evaluating Native
American and other records, finding our families, and then presenting our research results
in written form.
a. Reasonably exhaustive research. [Have you checked all existing records?]
b. Complete and accurate source citations. [Hey, where did I find that item?]
c. Thorough analysis and correlation. [Is it sensible that she gave birth at age 8?]
d. Resolution of conflicting evidence. [I have 3 birth years. How do I resolve this?]
e. Soundly written conclusion based on the strongest evidence. [Start writing your ancestral
generations story linking to a specific tribe and places. Will it make sense to someone
else? Does it clearly show how you are connected to that great grandmother and that
she is indeed a member of a tribe?]
4. Why is someone included or not include on a record? As you research, think about these:
a. Who compiled the record and what was the reason it was compiled?
b. If it was a continuing type of record, were the guidelines changed over time?
c. Does it appear to be an original record, a microfilmed original, or a digital image of an
original record? Is it someone’s abstract of the details from the record?
d. Was the record keeper a government official or employee?
e. Did the compiler understand the Native language?
f. Did the compiler really know the history of the individual and families?g. Is the tribe federally recognized, state recognized, both, and was it ever under the
government at some point?
h. Did the person live in or near a reservation? Was the connection due to nearness, a job,
marriage, or friendship?
i. Did the person/family live as white and was not involved in BIA records.
5. The records are voluminous for many
I often hear that since the late 1800s, most Native Americans in the U.S. that associated
with a recognized tribe are a well-documented ethnic group. The wealth of records from
individuals, military, tribes, churches, and the places to find them such as the local, state,
and federal governments, NARA in Washington DC, College Park, MD, and regional
locations, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Oklahoma Historical Society, state and
county historical societies, state archives, and other repositories are amazing. Extensive
historical records from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) have been turned over to the
Nation Archives. Added to that are digitized and indexed records available on free and paid
websites. Much is not microfilmed or digitized and must be used in the repository but the
search is well worth it. Material online and off must be included in reasonably exhaustive
research to be sure of your ancestry.
6. Relationship terminology
A person listed as uncle, brother, mother, sister, or father in a record may not be a blood
relative. Cultural differences existed as did terminology for beloved family members and
others.
7. Are you there yet?
That 1908 BIA Indian census shows that your great grandmother was enumerated as part of
the _______ reservation and back on the 1892 BIA census for the same reservation, she was
with her parents and siblings. The federal censuses of 1900, 1910, and 1930 tell that she
had Indian blood. You can do the paper trail research back to prove she is your great
grandmother. Whew! You did it. Maybe not. At face value, that may seem to be thorough
research. Look at the table at #13 to see if there are other records you have not yet
researched. Content in these might dispute some details you thought were your answers as
gleaned from these censuses. These may help determine actual family relationships, show
“adoptions,” disputed parentage, provide a better picture of the blood quantum, and show
other places your family may have resided. Indian custom marriages and divorces may be
alluded to. Some polygamist relationships may be discussed and could factor in your blood
relationships. Reasons for family splits, moves, and other details may surface. Testimony in
an heirship [BIA probate]case or correspondence sent to the BIA might tell more of the
family story. You need to place your family member in a specific place at a specific time.
8. Brief timeline that affects the creation and location of records: (see the next section for
ideas of records both before, during, and after these jurisdiction connections.)
• 1779 War Department jurisdiction over relations with Indian tribes.• 1824 Office of Indian Affairs established within the War Department (generally an
informal relationship) and it inherited a well-established system of agencies, each of
which was responsible for relations with one or more tribes. Many of these agencies
were under a superintendency which had general responsibility for Indian affairs in a
territory or other geographical area.
• 1832 Congress authorized appointment of Commissioner of Indian Affairs over Office of
Indian Affairs.
• 1849 The Office of Indian Affairs was transferred to the Department of the Interior.
• 1870s Superintendencies abolished and all agents report directly to the Bureau
headquarters in Wash. DC.
• 1885 Alaska Division of the Office of Education established to administer education and
health programs for the natives of Alaska.
• 1931 “BIA” assumed jurisdiction over the Indians and Eskimos of Alaska.
• 1947 Commonly called the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), it was not officially
designated that until 1947
• 1947 Area Offices established with supervisory control over agencies and other
administrative units (schools or irrigation districts) within specific geographic areas.
• 1955 Most of Bureau's health activities, including Indian Hospitals, transferred to Public
Health Service.
9. What others wrote
The diaries and journals of some Indians, missionaries, teachers, clerks, agents,
superintendents, traders, governors, mayors, military men, blacksmiths, area farmers,
shopkeepers, and others should be checked. These include baptisms, marriages, deaths,
burials, purchases of coffins, personal comments, notes on people moving away. Names,
relationships, issues, bravery, and other details are often mentioned. Many of these are
generally the only resources before state and federal governments took control of Native
Americans. These same resources are still important throughout all errors.
10. Record loss or ignorance
Courthouses burned, floods damaged records, pipes burst in repositories of records,
records were not kept, records were tossed, and other reasons are commonly known as
hindrances in our research. People were forced to move, offices were moved, nature
interfered, and most reservations and agency offices were not next to a fire station. We
need to learn about other records that may have survived and seek them out.
11. Government jurisdiction over Native Americans
Put yourself in the mindset of a government official. Each one has a better idea. One official
is difficult to deal with. Political pressures come about. What this means for Native
American research in records at NARA is that you need to be sure of the jurisdictions that
exerted power over the tribe of interest year by year. One tribe may be under one BIA
agency for two years along with five other tribes. The next year, that same agency might be
over two of those tribes and the other three tribes are under two other agencies. EdwardHill’s book #34 is helpful with this. In the session we will look at some examples of these
changes.
12. More jurisdiction and changing names
Many Indians were removed to another state/territory and then moved again. Your Indiana
or Ohio Native American connection might be found in Kansas and/or Oklahoma and
research needs to work back and forth from that point. Tribal names were sometimes
modified. The tribe you “think” is correct might be different due to intermarriage. Do you
know the name under which your ancestor is listed in a record? Some have both an Indian
name and the English name, some people never had an English name, and others had
special name changes due to bravery, reaching a specific age, or in admiration of another
person. Tribal intermarriage did occur and that affects names and affiliation.
13. Nothing found? Did you check for all these records.
These are purposely not in alphabetical order so that you are more likely to read through
the entire list. These are types of records found under the Military, Office of Indian Affairs,
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, local and state historical societies,
state archives, NARA, and private libraries, to name just a few repositories. Some are on
microfilm and some are digitized. Indexes? Some, but not all and no overall index.
Lists of chiefs, headmen Allotment rolls, lists, & related Annuity rolls, lists, & related
correspondence correspondence
Trading licenses Hospitals Guardianships
Military pensions Scholarly dissertations Removal records
Special files Trading house records Treaties
Pony claims Probates/heirships Family registers
Indian asylums Land transactions Tribal meeting minutes
Student case files School census Indentured students
Supplemental rolls of b, m, d General store records Sanitorium
Farm loan applications Relief requests Burial cost requests
Birth registers/certificates Death registers/certificates Marriage register
Oil and mineral leases and Individual Indian money Legislative Petitions (state and
payments accounts federal)
Forestry permits/fees Indian language newspapers School newspapers
Half Breed Tracts Draper Manuscripts Civilian Conservation Corps
Fur company records Grazing permits/fees Homestead records
Indian Schools Maps Plat books
Special Files Claims Commission Photographs
Indian scouts Employee contracts Employee lists
Lists of students at non- Wild West shows and circuses Newspaper local news columns,
reservation schools obituaries
Half breed claims Lists of agency personnel Removal rolls
Competency records Indian wills Scrapbooks
Oral histories Petitions to the BIA Historical periodicals
Maps Letters of private citizens Spanish mission records
Cemetery records Tribal histories County and town histories14. Other NARA Records
RG 75, Bureau of Indian Affairs is the best known and largest body of records related to
Native Americans. The majority are connected to federally recognized tribes. Do not neglect
other records at NARA. For example:
RG 15 Records of the Veterans Administration
RG 29 Records of the Bureau of the Census
RG 60 Records of the Work Projects Administration
RG 92, Records of the Quartermaster General
RG 56 Records of the Department of the Treasury
RG 60 Records of the Department of Justice
RG 205 Records of the Court of Claims
RG 279 Records of the Indian Claims Commission
15. RG 75, Indian Censuses “1885-1940”
A 4 July 1884 Congressional Act (23 Stat. L., 98) stated that DIA Superintendents in charge of
Indian reservations prepare and submit an annual census of all Indians under their charge.
These were done for several purposes. They helped determine levels of aid, budget,
property rights, and who was to inherit property and mineral rights. The Examiner of
Inheritance (heirships/probates) used these census rolls in determining rightful heirs. Some
Indian heirships I have used quote page after page of Indian census entries for descendants
of the deceased. Some of these censuses no longer exist! In 1846 an earlier attempt to
compile censuses was not as successful. Annual census? Don’t we wish!
16. Allotment Records
In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act which authorized dividing of tribal land into
individual parcels for tribal members. The plan was to have those who accepted the land to
live separately and gain U. S. citizenship and ownership of the land after 25 years. Not all
tribes entered into the plan, including the Five Civilized Tribes. The land was inheritable and
that created the need for heirship (probate) records, correspondence, and affidavits.
Censuses, other rolls, and family registries are among the records used to confirm heirs.
17. Annuity Rolls
Annuity payments are the result of treaty stipulations. Early payments were generally paid
to the chief or headman for distribution to the tribe or to members of his clan. Later ones
are more detailed as they sought to be sure each person was eligible for the payment. Some
of these created controversy and correspondence was created along with other records
that can be quite interesting. Many of these rolls remain in original format at NARA
locations and some are on microfilm and a few are digitized.
18. “The Rolls”
BIA censuses, allotment records, and annuity rolls are among the records a tribe may have
designated as its base roll (or rolls). This usually means you need to descend directly from
a person listed on the designated roll(s). We will discuss some in the presentation.19. Family Registers
In order to ascertain the family heirs and link families to each other for allotment and other
inheritance procedures, family registers were created. While not as easily found (or even
still in existence) as BIA censuses, these are great for research.
20. BIA correspondence files
Various BIA officials in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere sent many directives, asking
questions, demanding records, and more from the Agents, School Superintendents, and
others. Then all of these would respond. You could spend years reviewing these fantastic
files at NARA and its regions for most tribes. You might be viewing an original letter, a direct
carbon copy or someone’s letter-press volume. Correspondence in RG 75 alone is found in
thousands of archival files and boxes at NARA in D. C. and NARA locations around the
country. The terms used for most years was Letters Sent and Letters Received.
A rough timeline and arrangement discussion for RG 75 related correspondence
1824-1881: Most of the Letters Sent and Letters Received have been microfilmed and are
available in a variety of repositories. Some subject indexes but no overall name index.
1881-1907: Letter sent and letters received are not generally microfilmed or digitized.
Access is sometimes via a complicated register system that requires extra steps but is quite
worthwhile. Subjects are roughly indexed plus some names are indexed.
1907-1939: Correspondence was filed according to a decimal code system. Some are filed as
general correspondence that didn’t (supposedly) necessarily cover a specific tribe, others
were file by the decimal code and for a specific agency or tribe. Examples in the session will
clarify this. For a specific agency, the code 350 signifies probate, code 312 is related to land.
A list of codes is found in many places including in #35, Volume 2. A rough index to some is
at NARA D. C. and finding aids for some of those at the locations around the country do
exist. Your best research will be done by viewing all the files for a specific agency or tribe.
21. Special Files, Miscellaneous Records
These are a conglomeration of records, correspondence, lists, and more that defy total
description. Might include trader information, claims, accounts, affidavits, tattling on
others, complaints about agents, issues with specific Indians, and just about anything you
can imagine. Read through the Guide to Federal Records for RG 75 to find many of these.
22. Military Service
Native Americans have served in various military capacities even before this land became
the U.S. Militia lists, service records, pensions, draft registrations, correspondence,
memorials, and other types of records should be checked. RG 75 has some military
information but other state and federal agency records need to be searched just as you
would search for anyone else. Many Native American served as scouts for the military and
separate records and lists exist for many of them. Check NARA for a brief discussion and
links to records.23. School records
Native Americans attended schools in the general community, Indian boarding schools,
Indian day schools, and religious schools. The latter were generally established by
missionaries and served the area in which they were located. Check religious
denominational archives for these records. For example, Marquette University in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin has an extensive collection of Catholic Mission Schools.
Federal Indian boarding schools had wide-ranging home locations of the students. For
example, a Native American child in Idaho might be sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial
School in Pennsylvania. A child from a Utah tribe might be sent to the Stewart Indian school
in Carson City, Nevada. Children were removed from their parents and sent to the boarding
schools and it was usually an unpleasant experience as the children were forced to dress
and act non-Indian. They were generally not allowed to go home for family events. There
are some instances in which a parent wanted to send a child away to school. They may have
had too many children to feed and clothe or the child was unruly. Boarding school records
include correspondence, school censuses, individual student files, newspapers, grades, and
indentured students. Many were sent to farms and homes to work for others.
24. State level records
Some states took their own censuses of Native Americans. New York and California are two
examples. Various state agencies may have interacted with the tribes in that state. Papers
from territorial days, governors, and other agencies should be checked.
25. Locating other records
These resources are especially helpful in locating personal papers of Indian agents and others
who worked with Native Americans including doctors, missionaries, traders, teachers, and the
general community.
Worldcat.org is free online and may be accessed from home. This offers access to catalog
holdings of thousands of libraries worldwide. Searches on WorldCat can be limited in several
ways by the user, including the category of “Archival material” which includes manuscript
collections.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. [NUCMC] Washington, D.C.:
Library of Congress, 1962-present. Manuscript cataloguing via LOC. Published volumes (1962-
1994), annual indexes, and combined indexes list collections in 1,400 + repositories that
reported descriptions of hundreds of years of material. Not as many places participate in
NUCMC today because they do their own manuscript cataloging and online descriptions. What
they contributed in the past can still be found via NUCMC.
https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/ ArchiveGrid is another way to search for specific
original records and locations with over one million collection descriptions from repositories all
over the world, including much of NUCMC, and much not in NUCMC. FREE on your own
computer. This image shows a collection in Berkeley, California that covers Choctaw Indians in
Oklahoma. This is why NUCMC and ArchiveGrid are so valuable. We can find such collections.26. Newspapers
Many missionaries, schools, individuals, and tribes published newspapers and newsletters
dating back to the 1800s and continue today. Several early ones are on the free Chronicling
America. More are showing up on newspaper subscription sites. 18th and early 19th century
papers are in a Native language but may have some sections written in English. World,
state, tribal, and personal news is covered. Many include family history details.
27. Genealogy websites
Among the ones that are best directed to this research are Ancestry, FamilySearch,
Findmypast, Fold3, MyHeritage, NARA, Rootsweb, and some others listed in this handout.
Each has different items and some that are the same. Many individuals have websites and
blogs that discuss specific tribes and records. Webinars on general and specific Native
American research topics are offered by many societies and genealogy businesses.
28. Helpful online information and finding aids. Social media sites are full of material related to
Native American research, DNA, records, and advice (both good and bad). Many state
historical societies, libraries, and archives have information on tribes that are/were in the
state and describe records housed there.
• Access Genealogy has a large section of Native American information and some indexes and
abstracts of records. https://accessgenealogy.com/
• https://www.Cyndislist.com/native-american is full of links to helpful websites
• Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center is one of several sites about the students and
the school. http://carlisleindian.dickinson.edu/. Other boarding school alumni and
historians have produced other websites and books.
• Index of Native American Genealogy Resources on the Internet
http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAgenealogy.html• Minnesota Historical Society: many resources for researching tribes in Minnesota and other
states. Online guides to Ojibwe and Dakota research.
• NARA discussion on the background on the Indian Census Rolls 1885-1940
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/native-americans/1885-1940.html
• Newberry Library, Chicago: extensive records, photographs, correspondence
• New England Historic Genealogical Society: among books and other collections are the
manuscripts of Rudi Ottery gathered in preparation for the 1999 book A Man Called
Sampson: The Ancestry and Progeny of Sampson, a Mashantucket Pequot Indian . . . His
descendants lived in Connecticut, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana, Kansas,
Nebraska, Oregon, and elsewhere.
• Oklahoma Historical Society: Indian Archives records for many tribes; affiliated with NARA
• Native American Heritage Project: combining records and DNA
• New Mexico State Library holdings overview of material related to Southwest Tribes
• Presbyterian Historical Society Guide to the American Indian Correspondence: the
Presbyterian Historical Society Collection of Missionaries' Letters 1833-1893; 1949-1950
• Kansas Historical Society Indian Mission Schools Collection, 1837-1879 from other sources.
• Southwest Oregon Research Project (SWORP) Collection, 1850-1950 at the University of
Oregon. “Collection consists mainly of photocopies of widely scattered and overlooked
original documents pertaining to the history of the Native peoples of greater Oregon. . .”
• FamilySearch Wiki: Search by name of tribe, type of record, and other categories for
background information, links to records on FamilySearch, and links to other sites.
• Resources on Virginia Indians at the Library of Virginia
https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/ResourcesOnVirginiaIndians.pdf
Publications (Only a few that are in libraries and in bookstores. Also check for histories of
specific tribes and in the U.S, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada in general.)
29. Bantin Philip C. with Mark G. Thiel. Guide to Catholic Indian Mission and School Records in
Midwest Repositories. Milwaukee: Marquette Univ., 1984. [IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE,
ND, OK, SD, WI. www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives]30. Byers, Paula K. ed. Native American Genealogical Sourcebook. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.
[Coverage of some sources, such as church and missionary records, is minimal. Despite its
few shortcomings, this book is recommended.]
31. Carter, Kent. The Dawes Commission and the Allotment of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-
1914. Orem, UT: Ancestry, 1999.
32. Danky, James P. Native American Periodicals and Newspapers, 1828-1982. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1984.
33. The Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. 3 vols.
Washington, D.C., NARA, 1996. [Online and much updated at www.archives.gov. Volumes 1
& 2 describe the record groups, an overview of what they contain, and where records were
housed. Volume 3 is an index. View it at a library first and you will be more comfortable
with how it is arranged and able to understand the online edition.]
34. Hill, Edward E. Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to
American Indians. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1981.
[Discussion of record availability by record group, by topic and by tribe or area.]
35. Hill, Edward E. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. P.I.
Number 163. 2 vols. Washington, National Archives and Records Service, 1965. [Describes
records from RG 75, BIA, as of the 1960s. Most are at NARA in Washington DC and College
Park Maryland in this guide, but some are at the regional locations. Both volumes are found
online and one location is HathiTrust.org which has many government publications.]
36. Lennon, Rachal Mills. Tracing Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes: Southeastern
Indians Prior to Removal. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002.
37. Prucha, Francis Paul. The Churches and the Indian Schools 1888-1912. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 1979. [Good background reading and sources. Prucha has authored several
books which are helpful in Native American research.]
38. Rafert, Stewart. "American-Indian Genealogical Research in the Midwest: Resources and
Perspectives." National Genealogical Society Quarterly 76 (September 1988): 212-224.
[Good overview. Midwest refers to OH, IN, IL, MI, and WI, but the focus is directed more to
Ohio. However, the discussion is helpful for all Indian research.]
39. Swanton, John R. Indians of North America. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American
Ethnology Bulletin 145. Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1953. [Fully
digitized on HathiTrust.org.]
40. Walton-Raji, Angela. Black Indian Genealogy Research. Westminster (MD): Heritage Books,
2006.You can also read
