Olympic Peninsula Indian Agency (Washington)

The Olympic Peninsula Agency is a currently operating agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, located at Hoquiam, Washington. Its supervising office is the Portland Area Office. It has administrative responsibilities for the Chehalis, Hoh, Lower Elwha, Makah, Ozette, Quileute, Quinault, Shoalwater, Skokomish, and Squaxin Island Reserevations.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Chehalis, Chinook, Clallam, Hoh, Makah, Nisqualli, Ozette, Quileute, Quinault, Sauk-Suiattle, Skokomish, Squaxin Island

History
This agency was created from a division of the Western Washington Indian Agency, which had been created in 1950 from the merger of the Taholah and Tulalip Agencies.

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 the agencies.

Many of the records for the tribes under the Olympic Peninsula Agency's jurisdiction are in the Pacific Alaska Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Seattle. They include records filed under the names of predecessor agencies, such as Neah Bay, Taholah and other agencies.