In 1902, on the Crow Reservation in south central Montana, the former U.S. Army Scout Curley, who was one of the few eyewitnesses to “Custer’s Last Stand,” was 51 years old, living with his 53 year old wife Takes a Shield, whom he had married in “Indian Custom.” The couple had a daughter, Bird Another Year. Curley’s mother, Strikes By the Side of the Water, at the age of 85 was also still living. All of this rich genealogical detail can today be found in the “Register of Indians by Families,” found in the Record Group 75 Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs holdings at the National Archives at Denver.
WHAT ARE THEY?
Selection of registers from reservations across the west, as held at the National Archives at Denver.
The Register of Indian Families volumes are large bound books from the early 1900’s in which reservation superintendents listed all tribal members along with their age, tribal affiliation, marriage details, allotment numbers, parents, and whatever additional details deemed necessary. Some are handwritten while others were typewritten, some left in in their bindings while others were separated and flattened at some point in time. At the front of the volume is a name index to guide in locating individuals.
Index and entry examples from the 1901 Blackfeet Agency Register of Indian Families
Another volume was taken on the Blackfeet Reservation in 1904, this one typewritten, seen here.
Some were removed from the binding and today are found flattened, like this 1905 volume from Uintah and Ouray Reservation.
WHY WERE THEY CREATED?
The registers were born out of the allotment process, largely starting in 1887 that sought to break up commonly held reservations into individual parcels that were “allotted” to tribal members under trust. Without diving into the complexities, legacy, and effects of the allotment process, the issue soon arose for the Office of Indian Affairs in tracking the heirs for these newly or soon-to-be allotted lands.
On April 5, 1901, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs issued a circular that outlined the issue. Since allotted land descended to heirs according to the laws of the state or territory in which the reservation resides, it was “imperative that a reliable and permanent record of Indian family relations should be kept at every agency.” The three page April circular went on to detail the need for formal marriage certificates for the same reason and stated that shortly thereafter, marriage registers, marriage certificate blanks, and a "register of all families” would soon be issued to agencies.
The first page of the April 5, 1901, Office of Indian Affairs Commissioner circular saved by the Fort Peck Indian Agency lays out the business need for the family registers. At the end, he noted that the blank volumes would soon be sent out.
On August 31, 1901, the commissioner issued another circular to all agents and superintendents that the family register books were being mailed out, the “the work of making this register should be begun at once and be prosecuted as rapidly as practicable.” He went on to explain how the volume, along with the marriage registry noted earlier and the soon to be issued birth and death registers, would aid in tracing family histories. He furthered detailed how to fill in the various columns, as well as suggestions for spelling.
The August 31, 1901, circular is seen here, saved by the Fort Belknap Indian Agency.
The August circular noted that the volumes should have a sample entry page, from the Pine Ridge reservation, to base data entry on. Not all do, but this example was kept in the Crow reservation volume.
WHAT CAME AFTER?
These volumes fell out of use around 1907-1908, but the interest in documenting family relationships did not and other forms supplanted the registers. Two such examples are the 5-153 Family History Card, circa 1909, and another volume entitled “Family History of Allotment,” circa 1913.
WHERE ARE THEY FOUND?
These volumes are found across the country at National Archives facilities, though coverage is spotty as it appears some agencies either didn’t save them or possibly filed them in larger series or under different names so that easy discovery is not possible. Also do note that given the focus for these was for allotment purposes, reservations that were never allotted or planned to be allotted possibly ignored compiling these volumes. Here are a few more examples; since most are not digitized, one needs to reach out to the National Archives facility noted in the Catalog link below for more information.
Various Agencies Compiled by the Office of Indian Affairs Headquarters (Turtle Mountain, Colville, Klamath, Makah, Nez Perce, Coeur d'Alene, Wittenburg, Omaha, and Winnebago)
As the commissioner noted in August 1910, "The more carefully and completely this register is made, the more valuable will it be for reference in the years to come.” And now over 120 years later, these registers are indeed a priceless documentation of Native genealogy.