Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) does house the historical records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Record Group 75, we do not have a consolidated “Native roll” that identifies all individuals, living or deceased, who have Native heritage. Records documenting individual Native Americans, such as censuses (also known as “rolls”), are spread throughout multiple series in Record Group 75, which are not always arranged or indexed by name.
Moreover, while we house historical records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Record Group 75, we do not have a consolidated “Native roll” that identifies all individuals, living or deceased, who have Native heritage. Records documenting individual Native Americans, such as censuses (also known as “rolls”), are spread throughout multiple series in Record Group 75, which are not always arranged or indexed by name.
That said, if you know that your ancestor appeared on a particular roll or census in our custody, please let us know, and we can check to see which NARA facility might house those records. We can then direct you to that facility for more information.
In the meantime, NARA does house censuses of Native Americans taken by the BIA between 1885 and 1940. These records are known as the Indian Census Rolls. For information concerning these rolls please see our website at https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/census/research-indian-census.html Please note, however, that census rolls do not exist for every tribe for every year. Census rolls also only document enrolled members of federally recognized tribes.
We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow-up questions for the staff at Archives 1, please email us at archives1reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further.
