Indigenous Peoples of Oklahoma

See also Native American Research in Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Tribes

Five Civilized Tribes
Beginning in the 1820s, the U.S. Government began moving all tribes east of the Mississippi River to the Indian Territory in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. A series of treaties provided for the removal of almost all principal eastern tribes.

The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole (known as the Five Civilized Tribes) were among the many southeastern tribes who were removed by treaty to Indian Territory. In 1838 the Cherokees who had not already moved voluntarily were forced to move to Indian Territory. This migration became known as the “Trail of Tears.” Large parcels of land were distributed to these five tribes who became self-governing “Nations.”

White settlers moving west after the Civil War pressured the government to extinguish Indian title to lands and relocate the Indians. The alliance between the Five Civilized Tribes and the Confederacy during the Civil War also provided Congress with an excuse to realign tribal boundaries. Treaties in 1866 and later reduced the land of the Five Civilized Tribes by almost half. These created the “Unassigned Lands” in central Oklahoma that were eventually opened for land runs (see the “Land and Property” section).

Other Tribes
Some of the western land forfeited by the Five Civilized Tribes was reserved for other tribes through later treaties. These lands in the Indian Territory were assigned to tribes such as the Kiowa, Comanche, Wichita, and Cheyenne. Other tribes were later brought in at various periods from Texas, Nebraska, California, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, and other states. As many as 65 tribes were eventually relocated to the state, including:


 * Alibamu Kiowa Apache Piankashaw
 * Apache Koasati Ponca
 * Apalachee Lipan Potawatomi
 * Arapaho Miami Quapaw
 * Biloxi Mikasuki Sauk
 * Caddo Missouri Seneca
 * Delaware Modoc Shawnee
 * Fox Muklasa Tawakoni
 * Hitchiti Munsee Tawehash
 * Huron Natchez Tonkawa
 * Illinois Nez Percé Tuskegee
 * Iowa Okmulgee Waco
 * Iroquois Osage Wea
 * Jicarilla Oto Wyandot
 * Kansa Ottawa Yscani
 * Kichai Pawnee Yuchi
 * Kickapoo Peoria

Land allotment records
Many Indians received allotments of land. These records are described in the United States Research Outline (30972). A major set relating to Oklahoma is the land allotment records of the Five Civilized Tribes. These records are often referred to as the “Dawes Rolls” (see below).

Dawes Rolls
The Dawes “Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes” was established in 1898 to enroll individuals as citizens of one of the five tribes. When the governments of the Five Civilized Tribes were dissolved in 1908, the U.S. Government granted parcels of their land to qualified native individuals.

Many white persons had married Native Americans, and thus were eligible for land. The enrollment records of the Dawes Commission were used to determine eligibility for land.

The commission reviewed the enrollment applications and abstracted the information onto cards known as Enrollment Cards for the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914. (On 93 FHL films beginning with 1,490,261.) These records document about 101,000 Native Americans. The original applications are at the National Archives—Southwest Region and are on 468 Family History Library films, Applications for Enrollment of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914, beginning with FHL film 1,439,798.

You can search the Dawes Roll for names of persons by going to http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/finalrolls/

A helpful guide and index to these records is Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, The Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory.2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, [1907?]. (FHL book 970.1 Un3c; rolls on film 908,371 item 2 and index on film 962,366.)

Guion Miller Cherokee Rolls
In 1906, the U.S. Government appointed Guion Miller to compile a roll of Cherokees eligible for compensation from the government for lands taken in the 1830s. Applicants had to document their lineage back to an Eastern Cherokee living in the 1830s and prove that they had not affiliated with any other tribe. Over 45,000 applications that document about 90,000 Cherokees living about 1910 are in Eastern Cherokee Applications, 1906-1909 (On 348 FHL films beginning with 378,594; film 378,594 has an index.)

These rolls can be searched online at http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/native-americans-guion-miller.html

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Records
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was authorized to administer Indian programs beginning in 1824. A local field agency or subagency of the BIA served the tribes in a given area. Some of the agencies that served Oklahoma were the Concho, Kiowa, Osage, Pawnee, Quapaw, and Shawnee. Most of the agency records are at the National Archives—Southwest Region, with a few at the National Archives—Central Plains Region. For further information see Edward E. Hill, comp., Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1981. (FHL book Ref. 970.1 H551g; fiche 6,125,461.)

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of many records of the BIA and the field agencies including:


 * Land allotment records.
 * Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940, arranged by agencies for the entire United States (On 692 FHL films beginning with 573,847).
 * BIA heirship, school, census, annuity, probate, land, vital, and other records.

Other Records
The Indian Archives Division of the Oklahoma Historical Society has an extensive collection for Native American research including copies of the Dawes Rolls. Many of these records are on microfilm at the Family History Library. These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under Oklahoma Historical Society. Indian Archives Division. The Society's collections are described in Lawrence Kelly, “Indian Records in the Oklahoma Historical Society Archives,” The Chronicles of Oklahoma, 54: 227-44 (see the “Periodicals” section of this outline).

Another major repository for Oklahoma Indian records is:

Five Civilized Tribes Museum Federal Building Agency Hill Honor Heights Drive Muskogee, OK 74401 Telephone: 918-683-1701 Fax: 918-683-3070 Internet: www.fivetribes.org

Inventories and guides
he following guides describe some of the records available for Indian research:

Debo, Angie. “Major Indian Record Collections in Oklahoma,” in Indian-White Relations: A Persistent Paradox, edited by Jane Smith and Robert Kvasnicka. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1976. (FHL book 970.1 Sm61i.)

Svoboda, Joseph G. Guide to American Indian Resource Materials in Great Plains Repositories. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska, Center for Great Plains Studies, 1983. (FHL book 970.1 Sv51g.)

Doris Duke Oral History Project
In the mid-1900s, several universities conducted oral history interviews with Native Americans. The project was funded by Doris Duke, heiress of the Duke tobacco family. The University of Oklahoma was one of the universities that participated in the project. Transcripts of those interviews are online through the University of Oklahoma in Norman.