Indigenous Peoples of Idaho

Back to Idaho Portal Page►

Tribes and Bands of Idaho
The following list of American Indians who have lived in Washington 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.

Cayuse, Colville, Cree, Flathead, Gosiute, Kalispel, Kitunahan, Kootennai, Lemhi, Numa, Paiute, Paloos, Salish or Flathead, Shahaptian, Sheep Eater, Shoshone (Northern and Western), Skitswish, Snakes, Spokan, Tukuarika (Sheep Eater), Uintah, Umatilla, Upper Pend O Reilles, Ute, and Northwestern Band of Shoshoni.

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.

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.

There are four federally-recognized Indian reservations in Idaho -- the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in northern Idaho, the Duck Valley Reservation on the border of Idaho and Nevada, the Fort Hall Reservation in eastern Idaho, and the Nez Perce Reservation in central Idaho.

Coeur d'Alene Reservation
The Coeur d'Alene Reservation is located in Northern Idaho -- Coeur d'Alene Tribe.

Duck Valley Reservation
The Duck Valley Reservation in located on the southern border of Idaho, in Owyhee County, and in northern Nevada -- Western Shoshone and Northern Paiute.

Fort Hall Reservation
The Fort Hall Reservation is located just north of Pocatello, Idaho in the eastern part of the state -- Shoshone and Bannock.

Nez Perce Reservation
The Nez Perce Reservation is located in central Idaho, along the Clearwater River -- Nez Perce.

Other Reservations
Some of the Indians of Idaho were residents of other reservations of neighboring states. Some of these reservations may historically have included territory within Idaho. They include:


 * The Colville Reservation in Washington
 * The Flathead Reservation in Montana
 * The Jocko Reservation in Montana

Historically, there were two other reservations which no longer exist, but which existed for a time in Idaho:


 * Fort Lemhi Reservation (created 1875)
 * Kootenai Reservation

Agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Agencies were created as an administrative division of the federal government 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.


 * Coeur d'Alene Agency -- the administrative office on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation
 * Colville Agency
 * Eastern Nevada Agency -- the administrative office on the Duck Valley Reservation
 * Fort Hall Agency -- the administrative office on the Fort Hall Reservation
 * Fort Lapwai Agency -- the administrative office on the Nez Perce Reservation for a time.
 * Lemhi Agency -- the administrative office of the old Fort Lemhi Reservation; merged with Fort Hall
 * Nez Perce Agency -- the administrative office on the Nez Perce Reservation
 * Northern Idaho Agency -- the administrative office over the Nez Perce, Coeur d'Alene Indians, and other Northern Idaho Indians, subsequently divided.
 * Plummer Field Office -- serving the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.

Indian Schools
The Office of Indian Affairs (now the Bureau of Indian Affairs) established a network of schools throughout the United States, beginning with Carlisle Indian School, established in 1879. Some of these schools were day schools, usually focusing on Indian children of a single tribe or reservation. Some were boarding schools which served Indian children from a number of tribes and reservations.

In addition, other groups such as various church denominations established schools specifically focusing on American Indian children. (read more...)


 * Fort Lapwai School

Indian Health Facilities

 * Fort Lapwai Sanatorium

Superintendency
A Superintendent of Indian Affairs was an administrator, communicating and overseeing the agents who worked directly with individual tribes. It was the responsibility of the superintendent to see that the agents were following official government policy. (read more...)

Superintendencies with responsibility for agencies in Idaho included:


 * Idaho Superintendency of Indian Affairs 1863-1870 -- 3 films -- National Archives Microcopy #M-832 -- 1st film Family History Library microfilm #1580047

National Archives and Their Regional Archives
Many of the records created by the various departments of the federal government relating to American Indians have been gathered by the National Archives in Washington, DC or by the Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Records that are still actively used by current agencies, schools, and area offices may still be in the custody of those functioning offices.

Family History Library
The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has a large collection of American Indian sources, including:


 * Copies of many of the microfilmed records of the National Archives.
 * Copies of some records of agencies and other offices, obtained through their own records preservation program.
 * A book collection of histories, biographies, guides, etc. for American Indian research.

To determine the full extent of their holdings, search their catalog, using their Keyword Search, Place Search, and Subject Search, looking for names of tribes and offices. Many of their holdings are under the subject heading of Native Races.

Historical Societies and Archives
Idaho State Historical Society 2205 Old Penitentiary Road Boise, Idaho 83712 Phone 208-334-2682 Fax 208-334-2774