Indigenous Peoples of Mississippi

Learn about the Indians of Mississippi, tribes and bands, agencies, records, and reservations.

The word Mississippi comes from and Indian word meaning "Father of Waters"

Tribes and Bands of Mississippi
The following list of American Indians who have lived in Mississippi has been compiled from Hodge's Handbook of American Indians... and from Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America. Some may simply be variant spellings for the same tribe.


 * Acolapissa
 * Biloxi
 * Capinans
 * Chakchiuma
 * Choctaw
 * Choula
 * Grigra
 * Houma
 * Ibitoupa
 * Koasati
 * Koroa
 * Moctobi
 * Natchez
 * Ofo or Ofogoula
 * Okelousa
 * Pascagula
 * Pensacola
 * Quapaw
 * Taposa
 * Tiou
 * Tunica
 * Yazoo

Mississippi Band of Choctaw

Agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
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 were created by these offices.

The following list of agencies that have operated or now exist in Mississippi has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians , and others.


 * Chickasaw Agency
 * Choctaw Agency, 421 Powell, Philadelphia, MS 39350

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

Family History Library

 * Superintendent of Indian Trade Choctaw Trading House records 1803-1924 T 500 Family History Library 1st film of 6:

FamilySearch Catalog Mississippi Native Races for a listing titles

Reservations
From the mid-1800s, the official policy of the United States government toward the American Indian was to confine each tribe to a specific parcel of land called a reservation. Agencies were established on or near each reservation. A government representative, usually called an agent (or superintendent) was assigned to each agency. Their duties included maintaining the peace, making payments to the Native Americans based on the stipulations of the treaties with each tribe, and providing a means of communication between the native population and the federal government.

Sometimes, a single agency had jurisdiction over more than one reservation. And sometimes, if the tribal population and land area required it, an agency may have included sub-agencies.

The boundaries of reservations, over time, have changed. Usually, that means the reservations have been reduced in size. Sometimes, especially during the later policy of "termination," the official status of reservations was ended altogether.

For a current reservation map - Mississippi - Indian Reservations- The National Atlas of the United States of America. Federal Lands and Indian Reservations. by the U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Geological Survey.

The following list of reservations has been compiled from the National Atlas of the United States of America, the Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America , and other sources. Those reservations named in bold are current federally-recognized reservations, with their associated agency and tribe(s). Others have historically been associated with the state or are not currently recognized by the federal government.


 * Choctaw Reservation (Oklahoma):
 * Mississippi Choctaw: State, under jurisdiction of Choctaw Agency, Tribe: Choctaw

For Further Reading
See also American Indian For Further Reading. Click this button for links to databases, indexes, or sites that help you find an American Indian ancestor by topic or tribe.
 * Redskins, Ruffle-shirts, and Rednecks-Indian Allotments in Alabama and Mississippi 1830-1860. by Mary Elizabeth Young. University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. C. 1961 Library of Congress Number: 61-15150 Family History Library Book 970.1 Y86r
 * This book has maps: Location of Choctaw Contingent Clams, Public Land Sales in the Choctaw Cession, 1833-46, Soil Regions of Mississippi, Location of Chickasaw Allotments, Original Counties of the Chickasaw Cession, Land Offering Mississippi, Counties and Soil Regions, Indian Land Cessions


 * Mississippi - History for a calendar including dates of importance to American Indians
 * MississippiMilitary Records for a list of forts