Native American Heritage

Home > Research Our Records > American Indian and Alaska Native Records in the National Archives > Bureau of Indian Affairs Records: Tribal Rolls

Bureau of Indian Affairs Records: Tribal Rolls

On This Page

Records Overview

Allotment Rolls

Annuity Rolls

Census Rolls

Judgment Rolls

Removal Rolls

Tribal Enrollment Today

The U.S. Government has never created a list of all people who have Native American ancestry.

However, historically the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) created numerous rolls (lists) of American Indians and Alaska Natives to identify members of federally recognized tribes and bands, including Freedmen.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has many of these historical rolls in Record Group 75.

Historical tribal rolls can include names, tribal affiliations, ages, family relations, residences, and more.

Because the purposes of the rolls vary, the information they provide also varies.

Return to American Indian and Alaska Native Records in the National Archives

 

 

Records Overview

Select types of historical tribal rolls are listed below, along with examples of specific series in Record Group 75 that contain these rolls.

However, please note that the BIA created rolls as a result of allotments, legislation, removals, treaties, and other activities. The agency often created additional documentation from the information in these rolls, sometimes using the same rolls for multiple purposes. As a result, the roll types listed here are not mutually exclusive.

For the full archival records descriptions in the National Archives Catalog, please click on the National Archives Identifiers provided. For questions related to a particular series, please contact the National Archives research facility indicated.

Additional series of historical tribal rolls can be identified by searching the National Archives Catalog. Learn more about using the National Archives Catalog

Frequently Requested Rolls

Allotment Rolls

Land allotment refers to the historical federal policy of dividing American Indian reservations and communally held tribal lands into parcels to be distributed to individuals. Although the U.S. Government allotted land to American Indians through treaties as early as 1798, the General Allotment Act (also known as the Dawes Act) of 1887 made land allotment the government’s official policy.

The BIA was the primary federal agency responsible for administering the land allotment process, although it worked closely with the General Land Office to obtain land surveys and patents. BIA officials created lists to document who was eligible to receive a land allotment and to keep track of which parcel an individual received. These lists are called “allotment rolls.”

Allotment rolls typically provide an allottee’s name, select personal information about them (e.g., age, sex, relationship in the family), and the legal description of the land allotted. In some instances, individuals were required to apply for an allotment, so related applications with additional information may be available. Learn more about BIA allotment records

Examples

Annuity Rolls

refer to caption
Enlarge

Excerpt from the April 14, 1941, annuity roll for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (National Archives Identifier: 1949676)

View in National Archives Catalog

Some treaties between the U.S. Government and American Indian nations specified that the government would provide periodic payments to the signatory tribes, typically as compensation for the tribes ceding their lands to the United States. These payments were called “annuities” because they were usually distributed on an annual or other regular basis. Some treaties specified that payments had to be made in money, while others specified goods or a combination of money and goods. Additionally, some treaties specified the length of time that the government committed to making payments.

The BIA created lists of individuals eligible to receive annuity payments. These historical lists are called “annuity rolls” or sometimes “annuity payment rolls.” Annuity rolls typically provide basic information about eligible annuity recipients, such as their name, age, sex, and relationship to the head of household. However, the information provided varies by roll.

The BIA often made multiple copies of annuity rolls: one for the local BIA field office, another for the BIA headquarters, and another for the Treasury Department (later, the General Accounting Office). BIA headquarters copies are held by the National Archives in Washington, DC. BIA field office copies are held by the National Archives research facility serving the state in which the field office was located. See Navigating Record Group 75 for a list.

Examples

  • BIA Headquarters: “Annuity Payment Rolls, 1841–1949” (National Archives Identifier: 1949676)
  • Crow Agency: “Annuity Payrolls, 1892–1898” (National Archives Identifier: 1756580)
  • Klamath Agency: “Annuity and Per Capita Payrolls, 1906–1958” (National Archives Identifier: 4664798)
  • Osage Agency: “Annuity Rolls, 1870–1966” (National Archives Identifier: 1068138)

Census Rolls

refer to caption
Enlarge

Page 1 of the Census Rolls of Indians on the Flathead Reservation (National Archives Identifier: 246949871)

View in National Archives Catalog

Between 1885 and 1940, the BIA took annual censuses of American Indians who were formally affiliated with federally recognized tribes. These censuses, which were congressionally mandated, are known as the Indian Census Rolls, and they can provide such personal information as an individual’s name (American Indian and/or English), sex, age, and tribal affiliation.

However, the BIA also took censuses of specific tribes at other times for other reasons. The information gathered on these historical censuses varies depending on the time period and the reason for the census. The BIA sometimes maintained these censuses in their own series, but at other times, the censuses are interfiled among larger series of correspondence or related records.

Examples

  • BIA Headquarters: “Census Rolls, 1815–1869” (National Archives Identifier: 1729351)
  • BIA Headquarters: “Eastern Cherokee Census Rolls, 1835–1884” (National Archives Identifier: 2110769)
  • BIA Headquarters: “Irregularly Shaped Papers, 1849–1907” (National Archives Identifier: 300295)
    • Select files relating to tribal censuses include:
      • “Shawnee Cherokee orphans rolls for census 1856–59 and 1863” (National Archives Identifier: 5681277)
      • “Census of Lake Traverse Reserve [29880-1886]” (National Archives Identifier: 5681300)
      • “Reports, printed briefs, and petitions, census roll (1890) and other material concerning the relinquishment of land by the Turtle Mountain Chippewas (An 1892 census roll is included in one of the printed items). [20009-1896]” (National Archives Identifier: 5681342)
      • “Chippewa Census Rolls [36609-1889, 6768-1890]” (National Archives Identifier: 5681359)
      • “Census by William Parsons of the Oneidas of the Green Bay Agency whose ancestors were on the roll of 1838 [24352-1889]” (National Archives Identifier: 5681361)
      • “Census of the Fox Indians at Tama, Iowa [22791-1884]” (National Archives Identifier: 5681389)
    • Contact the National Archives in Washington, DC, with questions about these records.
  • BIA Headquarters: “Census Rolls Relating to Flathead Enrollment, 1903–1908” (National Archives Identifier: 2124143)
  • Juneau Area Office: “Village Census Rolls, 1935–1972” (National Archives Identifier: 628296)

Judgment Rolls

refer to caption
Enlarge

Page 1 of the Annotated California Judgment Roll Authorized in 1928 (National Archives Identifier: 57140147)

View in National Archives Catalog

At times, the U.S. Court of Claims and the Indian Claims Commission ruled in favor of American Indian nations who sued the U.S. Government for monetary damages. When Congress appropriated funds for these judgment awards, BIA and Department of the Interior officials created lists of individuals eligible to receive a portion of the award. These historical lists are known as “judgment rolls.”

As with other rolls, judgment rolls typically include basic information about an individual, including their name, age, sex, and tribal affiliation. Often, individuals applied to the BIA for inclusion on the roll, so related applications with additional information may be available.

Examples

  • “Guion Miller Report and Exhibits, 1908–1910” (National Archives Identifier: 300329)
  • “Annotated California Judgment Roll Authorized in 1928, 1930–ca. 1964” (National Archives Identifier: 57140147)
    • An act of Congress of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), authorized the attorney general of California to file a case in the U.S. Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California for benefits they would have received under 18 treaties negotiated with the United States. To determine who was eligible to share in any favorable judgment from the court, the act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to create two census rolls: 1) a census of California Indians living in the state on June 1, 1852, and their descendants living in the state on May 18, 1928; and 2) a census of Indians living in California on May 18, 1928, who were not of California Indian descent.
    • This series contains both census rolls, as well as a roll of rejected applicants. The series is microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M1853, and M1853 is digitized on Ancestry.com (database titled “California, U.S., Index to Census Roll of Indians, 1928–1933”).
    • Contact the National Archives at San Francisco with questions about these records.
    • An index to the 1928 California judgment roll is digitized in the National Archives Catalog.

Removal Rolls

refer to caption
Enlarge

Register of Cherokee Indians Who Have Emigrated to the West of the Mississippi (National Archives Identifier: 595556)

View in National Archives Catalog

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 (4 Stat. 411) authorized the President to negotiate removal treaties with American Indian nations living east of the Mississippi River. The goal was to remove Native Americans living in existing states and territories and send them west so that their lands would be available for settlers.

Removal proceeded differently for different tribes, but government officials typically created lists of Native Americans who were subject to removal. These historical lists can collectively be called “removal rolls,” but they are often called “muster rolls” or “emigration rolls” in the records. Removal rolls vary in the level of detail they provide about individual Native Americans. For example, some removal rolls only list heads of household by name.

For more information about the U.S. Government’s historical removal policy, see the following resources:

 

 

 

 

 

Examples

Tribal Enrollment Today

American Indian and Alaska Native nations manage their own enrollment processes today. Each nation determines its own criteria for tribal citizenship and maintains its own enrollment records.

NARA is not involved in enrolling tribal citizens or determining eligibility for tribal citizenship. The BIA is only rarely involved in tribal enrollment today. See the Department of the Interior's Tribal Enrollment Process page for more information.

 

What are people asking on History Hub about Tribal Rolls and Censuses?

historyhub

Find answers to your research questions at History Hub

Top