Hoopa Valley Indian Agency (California)

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
Hupa (or Hoopa) and Klamath (Klamath River and Lower Klamath River Indians)

After 1869, the Wailaki, Saia, and Mattole

History
The Hoopa Valley Agency was established in 1864 and was responsible for the Hupa Indians on theHoopa Valley Reservation along the Trinity River in northern California, and the Klamath Indians nearby. After 1869, they also had responsibility for the Indians who moved there from the Smith River Reservation. It was enlarged in the early 1890s and from the early 1900s has had control over all non reservation Indians in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. It was made an area field office in 1956 and placed under the Sacramento Area Office.

Agents and Appointment Dates
Robert L. Stockton October 14, 1864, William H. Pratt July 19, 1867, Lt. J. L. Spalding June 11, 1869, Capt. S. G. Whipple. April 21, 1870, David H. Lowry September 30, 1871,Everett K. Dodge September 30, 1872, James S. Broaddus May 15, 1877, Lt. Gordon Winslow (acting) October 22, 1878, Capt. E. B. Savage (acting) August 1, 1880

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 BIA field offices of California and Nevada, including those of the Hoopa Valley Agency, have been transferred to the Pacific Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in San Francisco. Among the records at the Regional Archives which may be of particular interest to genealogists and family historians are:


 * Employment records, 1880-1910
 * Health and sanitary records, 1886-1954
 * Wills, 1891-1908
 * Court records, 1895-1935
 * Birth and death records, 1902-1946
 * School records, 1907-1943
 * School census rolls, 1911-1942
 * Land and land allotment records
 * and others

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1885-1897, 1899-1907 and 1915 thru 1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 182-187. Copies of these records are also available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their ). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.


 * The following groups of Indians were included in the Indian census rolls for the years indicated:
 * 1915-1917 -- Indians from Hoopa Valley, Klamath River (connecting strip in Hoopa Valley), and Lower Klamath River
 * 1918-1935 -- Indians from Hoopa Valley, Klamath River (connecting strip in Hoopa Valley), Lower Klamath River, Bear River Rancheria, Blue Lake Rancheria, Crescent River Rancheria, Eel River Rancheria, and Smith River Rancheria
 * 1936-1939 -- Indians from Hoopa Valley, Bear River Rancheria, Blue Lake Rancheria, Crescent River Rancheria, Eel River Rancheria, and Smith River Rancheria

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Hoopa Valley Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 207, Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, in Humboldt County, California.

Records Available through the Family History Library

 * Census Records, 1904-1942. FHL films: 976970-976974
 * Land claims and Survey, 1899-1919. FHL film: 976978
 * Record of Employees, 1880-1911. FHL film: 976979 item 2
 * Wills, 1891-1908. FHL film: 976979 item 1
 * School Records, 1896-1942. FHL film: 984103, 976975-976977, 984102
 * Vital Records, 1902-1947. FHL films: 984101, 976968-976969
 * Sanitary Records, 1886-1904. FHL film: 928522 item 7