Columbia River Indian Agency (Washington)

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Indians of Southern Washington, particularly the Yakima

History
The Columbia River or Southern District Agency was established in 1854 for the Indians living north of the Columbia River and south of the Skookumchucm and Chehalis Rivers. The agency headquarters was usually at Vancouver, Washington, but was moved to the White Salmon Reservation in 1858.

In 1858, the agency was moved to Fort Simcoe on the Yakima Reservation and thereafter was called the Yakima Agency.

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.

See listings of records under the Yakima Agency.