Upper Platte Indian Agency

United States American Indian Research  Indians of Colorado  Indians of Kansas  Indians of Nebraska  Indians of Wyoming  Bureau of Indian Affairs  Upper Platte Indian Agency

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche, Apache (Kiowa-Apache), Sioux

History
The Upper Platte Agency was created in 1846 and originally had jurisdiction over large portions of what became the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska. In 1855, the Upper Arkansas Agency was created, taking responsibility for the area which is now eastern Colorado and western Kansas.

The agency headquarters moved several times, but the primary locations of the agent for the years below were:


 * 1846-1857 -- at or near Fort Laramie
 * 1857-1861 -- on Deer Creek about 110 miles west of Fort Laramie
 * 1861-1863 -- near Fort Laramie
 * 1863-1867 -- on the North Platte River about 24 miles east of Fort Laramie
 * 1867-1868 -- North Platte, Nebraska

In December, 1868 the Upper Platte Agency was moved to the mouth of Whetstone Creek on the Missouri River, 18 miles from Fort Randall in Dakota Territory. It was renamed the Whetstone Agency in June 1869.

Also in June of 1869, the Cheyenne River Agency and the Grand River Agency were established. In 1871, the Red Cloud Agency was also established near Fort Laramie and by then, the name "Upper Platte Agency" was discontinued.

Agents and Appointment Dates
Thomas Fitzpatrick 1846, John W. Whitfield1854, Thomas S. Twiss 1855, Joseph A. Cody 1861, John Loree 1862, Vital Jerrott 1865, Mathewson T. Patrick 1866

Records
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 these offices. '''

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Upper Platte Agency, 1846-1870, have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M234, Rolls 889-896. Copies are available at the National Archives and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their ).

By the end of 1870, the Office of Indian Affairs no longer used the "Upper Platte" designation for records, as the agency had been split up by then and records were filed under the names of the successor agencies.