Free Access to the Native American Collection*

November is National Native American Heritage month. To celebrate, we’re offering free access* to our Native American collection November 1-15. Titles in this collection include:

Ratified Indian Treaties (1722-1869): This collection contains ratified treaties that occurred between tribes and the US government. Also included are presidential proclamations, correspondence, and treaty negotiation expenses.

Indian Census Rolls (1885-1940): An 1884 Act of Congress required agents or superintendents of reservations to submit annual census rolls. Only persons who maintained a formal affiliation with a tribe under Federal supervision are listed on these census rolls.

Dawes Packets: In 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed the Dawes Commission to negotiate with members of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes. They were promised an allotment of land if they recognized Federal law and abolished tribal governments. The Dawes records are applications from individuals in these five tribes to establish eligibility.

Dawes Enrollment Cards (1898-1914): The Dawes Commission recorded information about family groups within the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations. Also, known as “census cards,” the cards list family relationships, degree of native blood, tribal enrollment and include notations of actions taken.

Eastern Cherokee Applications (1906-1909): Applications submitted for shares of the money that was appropriated for the Eastern Cherokee Indians by Congress on June 30, 1906.

Enrollment of Eastern Cherokee by Guion Miller (1908-1910): The US Court of Claims appointed Guion Miller to determine who was eligible for funds under the treaties between the US and the Eastern Cherokee. An estimated 90,000 applicants provided family genealogies to document tribal connections, making this collection an important source for genealogical research.

Cherokee Indian Agency, TN (1801-1835): This collection contains the records of the agent of Indian Affairs in Tennessee, including correspondence, agency letter books, fiscal records, records of the Agent for the Department of War in Tennessee, records of the Agent for Cherokee Removal, and miscellaneous records.

Rinehart Photos – Native Americans (1898): A stunning collection by commercial photographer Frank A. Rinehart of Omaha, Nebraska. He was commissioned to photograph the 1898 Indian Congress, part of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition.

Were you able to locate your Native American ancestors in this collection? Tell us about it! Or get started searching the Native American collection here.

*Access to the records featured collections will be free until November 15, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Free access requires registration for a free Fold3 account. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using a paid Fold3 membership.