Papago Indian Agency (Arizona)

The Papago Indian Agency, located in Sells, Arizona is the administrative office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Tohono O'Odham Indian Reservation. Its current supervising field office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs is the Phoenix Area Office.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Papago (now Tohono O'Odham)

History
There have been several agencies for the Papago Indians at various times in history. These agencies have been divided, renamed, consolidated, and reestablished by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (formerly Office of Indian Affairs).

A Papago Agency was established in 1864. In 1865 it was expanded to also include the Pima, Maricopa, and "Tame" Apache Indians and was called the Pima, Papago, and Maricopa Agency. In 1869, the agency was re-located at Sacaton, Arizona, in Pinal County, on the Gila River Reservation, and was called the Gila River Agency. From 1871 to 1876, there was a separate agency for the Papago Indians. After 1876, the Papago Indians were again assigned to an agency known as the Pima Agency, which was also responsible for the Pima and Maricopa Indians. In 1902, some of the Papago living on the San Xavier Reservation came under the San Xavier Agency. In 1917, the reservation for the Papago Indians was enlarged and in 1919, the San Xavier group of Papago Indians moved to Indian Oasis with that agency, which was renamed the Sells Agency. Some Papago remained under the Pima Agency until 1934.

A separate Papago Agency was established about 1948 by the renaming of the Sells Agency.

Agents
R.A. Wilber (special) February 8, 1871 as agent July 23, 1872

John M. Cornyn January 22, 1875

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.

Some of the records for the Papago Agency (actually for the Sells Agency for much of the time period covered by the collection) are in the Pacific Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration in Laguna Niguel, California. Among the collection there are:


 * Records relating to marriages, 1902-1948
 * Applications for attendance at non-reservation Indian schools, 1906-1924
 * Individual Indian history cards, ca. 1908-1915
 * Tribal census rolls, 1912-1940
 * Birth and death registers, 1913-1936
 * Death certificates, 1916-1947
 * Birth certificates, 1919-1948
 * School census, 1937
 * Individual and family census cards
 * Individual Indian draft registration cards, 1940-1945

See the discussion of records under the Gila River Agency, San Xavier Agency, and Sells Agency for listings and descriptions of other records for the Papago Indians.