Cimarron Indian Agency (New Mexico)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Jicarilla Apache, Moache Ute

History
The Cimarron Agency was established in 1862 with responsibility for the Moache Ute and the Jicarilla Apache in northwestern New Mexico. Its forerunner was the Abiquiu Agency and the Utah Agency. The Cimarron Agency was consolidated with the Pueblo Agency in 1876 and the agency was discontinued, but a farmer in charge was assigned to the Abiquiu Agency, and the Jicarilla Apaches assigned to that agency, which was renamed the to the Jicarilla Agency in 1881. The supervision of the Jicarilla Agency was transferred to the Mescalero Agency in southern New Mexico in 1882.

Agents and Appointment Date
Levi J. Keithly 1862, Manuel S. Salazar 1865, Erasmus B. Dennison 1866, Lt. A.S. B. Keyes 1869, Maj. W. P. Wilson 1870, Charles E. Roedel 1870, Alexander G. Irvine 1974 and John E. Pyle 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.

Many of the historical records of this agency are housed in the National Archives Rocky Mountain Region (Denver), Colorado. They are listed under the title of "Cimarron and Abiquiu (Jicarilla) Indian Agencies, NM". Most of the records in that collection are administrative and financial, rather than records of individual Indians.