Indigenous Peoples of New York

To learn how to get started with American Indian research, find research facilities, and American Indian websites click here.

Tribes and Bands of New York
The following list of American Indians who have lived in New York has been compiled from Hodge's Handbook of American Indians... and from Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America. Some may simply be variant spellings for the same tribe.


 * Delaware or Lenni Lenape
 * Erie
 * Iroquois
 * Mahican
 * Mohegan
 * Montauk
 * Neutral
 * Oneida
 * Onondaga
 * Saponi
 * Seneca
 * Tuscarora
 * Tutelo
 * Wappinger
 * Wenrohronon

Five Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca

Six Indian Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora

Reservations
From the mid-1800s, the official policy of the United States government toward the American Indian was to confine each tribe to a specific parcel of land called a reservation. Agencies were established on or near each reservation. A government representative, usually called an agent (or superintendent) was assigned to each agency. Their duties included maintaining the peace, making payments to the Native Americans based on the stipulations of the treaties with each tribe, and providing a means of communication between the native population and the federal government.

Sometimes, a single agency had jurisdiction over more than one reservation. And sometimes, if the tribal population and land area required it, an agency may have included sub-agencies.

The boundaries of reservations, over time, have changed. Usually, that means the reservations have been reduced in size. Sometimes, especially during the later policy of "termination," the official status of reservations was ended altogether.

The following list of reservations has been compiled from the National Atlas of the United States of America, the Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America , and other sources. Those reservations named in bold are current federally-recognized reservations, with their associated agency and tribe(s). Others have historically been associated with the state or are not currently recognized by the federal government.


 * Akwesasne Reservation:
 * Allegany Reservation: State, under jurisdiction _______ Tribe: Seneca
 * Buffalo Creek Reservation:
 * Cattaraugus Reservation: State, under jurisdiction of ______ Office Tribe: Seneca
 * Cayuga Nation: under jurisdiction of New York Liaison Office, Tribe: ______
 * Erie Reservation:
 * Oil Springs Reservation:
 * Oneida Reservation:
 * Onondaga Reservation:
 * Poosepatuck Reservation:, , Tribe: Poosepatuck
 * Seneca Nation: State, under jurisdiction of New York Liaison Office, Tribe: Seneca
 * Shinnecock Reservation: State, under jurisdiction of ______ Tribe: Shinnecock
 * St. Regis Reservation: under jurisdiction of New York Liaison Office, Tribe: Mohawk
 * Tonawanda Reservation: under jurisdiction of New York Liaison Office, Tribe: Tonawanda Band of Seneca
 * Tuscarora Reservation: under jurisdiction of New York Liaison Office, Tribe:______

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 were created by these offices.

The following list of agencies that have operated or now exist in New York has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians , and others.


 * New York Liaison Office, Federal Bldg., 100 S. Clinton St., Syracuse, NY 13202
 * New York Agency 1829-1880
 * Seneca Agency 1824-1832
 * Six Nations Agency 1824-1834

Family History Library
Records of American Indians in New York are listed in the Family History Library Catalog Place Search under NEW YORK - NATIVE RACES and in the Subject Search under the name of the tribe or language group, such as IROQUOIS and ALGONQUIAN. Additional records are listed in the Subject Search under INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA - NEW YORK.


 * Duke University Oral History Collection 8 films Family History Library 1st film 1486555 fiche 6052870
 * Census 1854 New york Indians living in Kansas FHL Film: 989204
 * Census films 1885-1924 Family History Library films: 579700-579709
 * Land and Property Cayuga County, Reservation deeds, 1822-1901 FHL films: 852061-852074
 * Holland Company Records 1790-1800 (Buffalo and Erie Counties) 23 films Family History Library 1st film 1549981
 * Cattaraugus Reservation-Vital Records 1883-1940. Family History Library film 962208 item 7

See Also:
New York- History for a calendar of events

New York -Military for a list of forts

New York - Church Records