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How to Follow up Leads for Possible Native American Ancestors

One of the most difficult tasks in creating a family tree is following up leads in your Native American ancestry. Many modern tribes today do not keep records that go back very far. One of the first places you should begin to look is the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The BIA was established in 1824 and was originally part of the War Department. Most of the bureaus tasks included treaty making and breaking and recruiting other tribes to help fight in the war.

According the Bureau of Indian Affairs, they do not keep a national Indian registry or any kind of database. They also do not do any genealogy research. They will tell you that some offices around the country have records concerning Indian ancestry, but they will still insist that there is not any list or database. However, some branches of the Bureau of Indian affairs will tell you that there are “current records of lists commonly called rolls”, but there is no supporting documentation to go along with these rolls. When you call the Bureau of Indian Affairs you should be prepared to give the name of the tribe, names and birthdates of the person, and relationships. You must provide specific information otherwise offices will not provide useful information.

Another good place to look is by checking microfilm census records. Annual census rolls were taken of individual tribes by government agents, usually under the supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The census data was gathered and the amount of information is different with each record. All of them include names, either American birth names in English, Native American or both; age and/or date of birth, gender, the person's relationship to the head of household, and a roll number. Beginning in 1930, (and in some cases even earlier), many censuses also designate the person's degree of Native American blood, their marital status, and often the place of residence.

The key to using these microfilms will mean knowing how to use them, and to know which one you want to look at. The best method for this is to know what geographical area to start looking in. You should also know the name of the agency that made the original record. Historical records will also help guide you in the right direction. The more information you have when you start, the easier it will be to locate the right micro film. A list of microfilm rolls for the tribes named below may be found on most libraries record page.

You can also contact some local offices that deal with Indian archives for information. Unlike the Bureau of Indian Affairs, these tend to have more information and usually are more willing to work with people doing their own research. You will have a better chance by contacted them than you will by contacting the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Here are some addresses of places to contact for more information on Indian Ancestry:

The Oklahoma Historical Society 2100 N. Lincoln Oklahoma City, OK 73105,

Chief, Archives Branch Federal Archives and Records Center P. O. Box 6216 Fort Worth, TX 76115

Heart of America Indian Center 1340 E. Admiral Boulevard Kansas City MO, 64124 (816) 421 - 7608, fax (816) 421 - 6493

American Indian Center 4115 Connecticut Street St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 773 - 3316

Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory 1012 Business Highway 63 North Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 44 3 -8424

Southwest Missouri Indian Center 2422 W. Division Springfield, MO 65802 (417) 869 - 9550, fax (417) 869 - 0922

Saponi Nation of Missouri Mahenips Band c/o 3445 CR 4990 Willow Springs, MO, 65793 (417) 469 - 2547

Cherokee National Historical Society and Cherokee Registration Office P. O. Box 515 Tahlequah, OK 74464 - 0515 (918) 456 - 6007

For Delaware, Osage, Shawnee and Kaw tribes: Kansas State Historical Society 120 West Tenth Topeka, KS 66612 - 1291

Bureau of Indian Affairs Muskogee Agency, 4th Floor Federal Bldg. Muskogee OK 74401

LDS Library 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150

Newberry Library 60 West Walton Street Chicago, IL 60610 - 3394

Using all of these sources, as well as your local library will enable you to get a lot of useful information for you ancestral search.

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