Dawes Rolls: Additional Resources
Step 5: What You Can Do Next
Step 5: What You Can Do Next
If you did not find your ancestor in the Dawes Rolls online, but you feel sure they were in one of the "Five Civilized Tribes", here are some ideas for where you can look further:
- Check the Census of Intruders. For example, the Cherokees compiled a list of intruders in 1893.
See the listing of microfilm rolls pertaining to
Non-Indians
in Indian Territory available from NARA's Fort Worth facility.
- See the page of links to
Indian/Native
American web sites, compiled by the National Archives librarians.
- See the Department of Interior's
How Do I Trace Indian Ancestry? page.
- Ask yourself why do you think your ancestor was Indian? Just because they may have lived in Indian Territory does not make them Indian. There were many non-Indians living in these areas.
If you found your ancestor online in the Dawes Rolls, you can:
Continue Native American Research Online
- Find Tribal Membership information:
- Review the following article in Prologue, The Journal of the National Archives
Snakes & Scribes: The Dawes Commission and the Enrollment of the Creeks, part 1 and part 2, by Kent Carter, Spring 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1
- Check the Guion Miller Rolls on microfilm publication roll M1104 (Available on Ancestry.com). These include 45,847 applications by Eastern
Cherokees to share in an award granted by the U.S. Court of Claims on May 28,
1906. The
index is available online.
- Read Kent Carter's book,
The Dawes Commission and the Allotment of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1914.
Publisher: Ancestry.com; (May 1, 1999). ISBN: 091648985X
- Search NARA's Microfilm Catalog,
American Indians: A
Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications.
- See the list of holdings in the
National Archives at Fort Worth
from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
- See the list of
Microfilm Rolls
pertaining to Native Americans available at the National Archives at
Fort Worth
- Read about
Indian Census Rolls,
1885-1940 (available on Ancestry.com), which also lists Microfilm roll numbers, the jurisdiction, and
dates.
- Explore other
NARA web
pages relating to American Indian records at NARA
- Link to
Indian/Native American web sites,
compiled by the National Archives librarians.
- See the Department of Interior's
How Do I Trace Indian Ancestry? page.
- The Oklahoma Historical Society holds some federal records related to the Five Civilized Tribes, and their web site has info. on Native American research. (This is one of NARA's Affiliated Archives.)
Order Copies
- To order copies of the census cards, application jackets, and land allotment jackets
please include in your request the name of the tribe, enrollment category,
roll number, and census card number (from
the Census card number you found in the Final Rolls).
Cost: The cost is $20 for up to 25 pages of the census card/enrollment jacket or land allotment jacket.
Send your request to:
Archival Operations, National Archives at Fort Worth
1400 John Burgess Drive
Fort Worth, Texas 76140
- For copies of other records, see the Obtain Reproductions page.
Hire a Researcher
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) staff is available to
provide reference assistance to you. However, if you find that you require
extensive research assistance at NARA facilities, we offer you this list of
researchers who are available for hire. Note: Researchers for hire are not NARA employees.
The
Oklahoma Historical Society also has staff available to
assist you in your research.
See also their page on
fees.
Access the Dawes Rolls and other Native American Records Online
Visit NARA in Washington, D.C., or check with the 13 Regional Archives around the country. Many of these facilities have these records on microfilm for use in person. Microfilm can also be purchased.
Some of the available microfilm publications include:
- M1186 - "Enrollment Cards of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914." - Available via Ancestry.com
- M1301 - "Applications for Enrollment of the Commission to the
Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914."
Find the application jacket associated with your ancestor's Dawes Roll application.
(See also the
order copies section above.) - Available via Ancestry.com
- M1650 - "Applications from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Muskogee Area Office, Relating to
Enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes Under the Act of 1896."
- Available via Ancestry.com
- M1104 - Check the Guion Miller Rolls. These include 45,847 applications by Eastern
Cherokees to share in an award granted by the U.S. Court of Claims on May 28,
1906. You can view the
Guion
Miller Rolls index online. - Available via Ancestry.com
You may then also want to pursue earlier records in NARA:
- Review Cherokee census and payment rolls from 1867-1896. They are available from NARA's Fort Worth
facility on
microfilm
7RA25.- Available via Ancestry.com
- Search for possible military service.
For more comprehensive microfilm lists:
- See NARA's Microfilm Catalog,
American
Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications online.
To search this catalog online:- From the main Microfilm Catalog page, click Advanced Search (next to the Search button)
- In the righthand column, under Subject Catalog, select "American Indians"
- Hit "Search"
- See also the list of
Microfilm
Rolls pertaining to American Indians available at the National Archives at Fort Worth
- You can also search NARA's
Microfilm
Publications Catalog to find out the availability of specific microfilm in
various locations.
- Also view the Catalog of Microfilm Publications from the Oklahoma Historical Society.
You can buy rolls of microfilm from NARA once you have used the indexes and roll list for the census card number, so you know what you need: call 1-866-272-6272.
You can also buy the Dawes Rolls and other American Indian records on CD from the Oklahoma Historical Society. The "Native American Collection" CD, for example, includes searchable databases. You can view these records at no cost at a National Archives research facility.
Contact the National Archives
-
E-mail:
http://www.archives.gov/contact/inquire-form.html
-
Mail: Please mail your inquiry to:
The National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
-
For specific questions about the Dawes Rolls, you can contact:
National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas
(817) 831-5620
-
For general NARA inquiries, call (toll-free):
1-86-NARA-NARA (1-866-272-6272), 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST