Oregon Superintendency of Indian Affairs

History
The Oregon Superintendency of Indian Affairs was established in 1848. After the Superintendency was abolished in1873, the agents reported directly to the Office of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC. Some correspondence continued to be filed under "Oregon" rather than under the names of the individual agencies until 1881, when the filing system was changed.

Records for Superintendencies exist in the National Archives and copies of many of them are also available in other research facilities.

Tribes and Bands
Umpqua, Umatilla, Cayuse, Wallawalla, Wasco, Shoshoni (Snake), Kalapuya, Clackamas, Rogue River, Warm Springs, Shasta, Klamath, Modoc, Paiute, Tenino, Nez Perce, Molala, Yamel, Joshua, Sixes (Kwatami), Chastocosta, Chetco, and Bannock

Subagent for Country West of the Rocky Mountains
Elijah White 1842

Governors and Ex Officio Superintendents
Joseph Lane 1848, John P. Gains 1849, Anson Dart 1850, Joel Palmer 1853, Absolom F. Hedges 1856, James W. Nesmith 1857, Edward R. Geary 1859, William H. Rector 1861, J.W. Perit Huntington 1863, Alfred B. Meacham 1869, and T. B. Odeneal 1872

Agencies
Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value (for the tribe and tribal members) were created by and maintained by the agencies.


 * Grande Ronde Agency
 * Klamath Agency
 * Malheur Agency
 * Port Orford Agency
 * Puget Sound District Agency
 * Rogue River Agency
 * Siletz Agency
 * Southeastern District Agency
 * Umatilla Agency
 * Warm Springs Agency
 * Washington Agencies

Some of the tribes the Oregon Superintendency served were the Umatilla Indians, Klamath Indians, Klikitat Indians, Cayuse Indians, Walla Walla Indians, Nez Percé Indians, Yakima Indians, Modoc Indians, Shoshoni Indians, Umpqua Indians, Rogue River Indians (Tututni Indians), Clackamas Indians, Spokane Indians, and Skagit Indians.

The records of the Superintendency concern liquor and Indians, payments and presents to Indians, listings of the various tribes and information about them, agents and their work with the Indians, and other matters involving treatment of Indians and attempts to keep peaceful relationships between them and whites.


 * Tribal Census 1877-1952. FS Library Film: 1028458item 2 and FS Library Film: 01028459 item 1


 * Family Index Cards 1938-1950. FS Library Films: 1028470 item 4 and FS Library Film:1028471


 * Medical Records. 1934-1946. FS Library|Film: 1028470 item 2


 * Heirship Records 1887-1952. FS Library|Film: 1028461 item 2 - FS Library|Film: 1028470


 * Civil Information 1864-1951. FS Library|Film: 1028470 item 3


 * School Records 1916-1952. FS Library|Films: 1038456-1038458


 * Vital Records 1912-1952. FS Library|Film: 1028459item 2 - FS Library|Film: 1028461

Records
Records of the Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 1848-1873, are at the National Archives and have been microfilmed as their Microcopy Number M2. Copies are also available at the Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle Regional Archives. This set of microfilm of the records of the Oregon Superintendency is also available at the and its family history centers.

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Oregon Superintendency, 1842-1880, have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M234. Copies are available at the National Archives and at the and its family history centers on their microfilm roll numbers 1661337 thru 1661360.