Cheyenne River Indian Agency (South Dakota)



The Cheyenne River Agency, located in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, is the administrative office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. Its current supervising field office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs is the Aberdeen Area Office.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency



 * Miniconjou, Sans Arcs, Two Kettle (Oohenonpa) and Blackfeet Bands of the Sioux.

History
The Cheyenne River Agency was established in 1869, located just below the mouth of the Big Cheyenne River, on the west bank of the Missouri River about 6 miles from Fort Sully, South Dakota. Its primary responsibility is for the Sans Arc Band of Sioux Indians. It was known as the Forest City Agency from 1892-1894. It was placed under the Aberdeen Area Office in 1949.

Agents and Appointment Dates
Bvt. Maj. George M. Randall (special) June 14, 1869, J. Lee Englebert (special) October 19, 1870, Percival B. Spear (special) December 16, 1870, Theodore M. Koues (special) January 31, 1871, Henry W. Bingham (special) July 8, 1872, Henry W. Bingham (agent) July 23, 1872, James F. Cravens June 27, 1876, Capt. Theodore Schwan (acting) March 28, 1878, and Leonard Love May 27, 1880

Records
The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:


 * Allotment records
 * Annuity rolls
 * Census records
 * Correspondence
 * Health records
 * Reports
 * School census and records
 * Vital 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 of the Cheyenne River Agency have been transferred to the Central Plains Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Kansas City. Some of the records in this collection, identified by NARA inventories, which may be of interest to family historians, are:


 * Records of Indian policemen, 1878-1893
 * Censuses and family registers, 1879-1937
 * Vital statistics, 1886-1951
 * Annuity rolls, 1894-1919
 * Heirship records, 1904-1941
 * Allotment records, 1886-1910
 * School records, 1917-1926
 * Family surveys, 1921-1922

Most of these records have been through the FamilySearch Library and its system of family history centers.

Letters received from the Cheyenne River Agency, 1871-1880, are included among Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, filmed by the National Archives as their Microcopy M248, Rolls 127-141. This set of records is also available at the FamilySearch Library and its family history centers (their ). Correspondence from Cheyenne River Agency for 1869 and 1870 is filed with the Upper Platte Agency.

Reports of Inspection of the Field Jurisdictions of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1873-1900 have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of Microcopy Number M1070. The reports for Cheyenne River Agency, 1874-1900, are on roll 5 of that Microcopy set. Copies are available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the FamilySearch Library and its family history centers (their ).

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Cheyenne River Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Cheyenne River Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 48, Cheyenne River Agency, in Dewey County, South Dakota and in District 48, Cheyenne River Agency, in Sterling County, South Dakota.

Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Cheyenne River Agency, 1907-1935, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, Rolls 16-17, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City (their ). Reports for some years are missing.

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1886-1887, 1890-1892, 1894-1907, and 1909-1942. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 33 thru 40. Copies of these records are also available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the FamilySearch Library and its family history centers (their ). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.

Cheyenne River Agency Records 1886-1951.: Census, Vital, Heirship, Guardianship, Allottees, Land Annuity and more. FS Library Film: 1205156-1205160 and 10223372-1023380

National Archives Cheyenne River Agency

Vital Records
Birth and Death Records 1925-1932 FS Library film 574198

Birth and Death Records 1932-1941 FS Library film 574199