Indigenous Peoples of Kansas

Indians of North America   United States    Kansas    American Indians

The word Kansas comes from a Sioux word meaning "people of the south wind"

To learn how to get started with American Indian research, find research facilities, and American Indian websites click here.

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

Tribes
Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Chippewa, Comanche, Delaware, Fox, Illinois, Iowa, Kansa, Kaskaskia, Kaw, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Kiowa-Apache, Miami, Missouri, Munsee, Osage, Oto, Ottawa, Pawnee, Peoria, Piankashaw, Potawatomi, Quapaw, Sac and Fox - Musquacki (of Mississippi and Missouri), Sauk, Seneca, Shawnee, Southern Cheyenne, Wea, Wyandot

Bands
Black Bob's Band of Shawnee, Prairie Band Potawatomi, Sac and Fox of Kansas

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.


 * Chippewa - Munsee Reservation
 * Iowa Reservation Federal, under jurisdiction of Horton Agency, Tribe: Iowa
 * Kickapoo Reservation State, under jurisdiction of Horton Agency, Tribe: Kickapoo
 * Prairie Potawatomi Reservation Federal, under jurisdiction of Horton Agency, Tribe: Potawatomi
 * Potawatomi Reservation
 * Sauk and Fox Reservation

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 Kansas 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.


 * Delaware Agency
 * Drum Creek Agency
 * Fort Leavenworth Agency
 * Great Nemaha Agency
 * Haskell Agency and Institute
 * Horton Agency, P.O. Box 31, Horton, KS 66439
 * Kansas Agency
 * Kickapoo Agency
 * Neosho Agency
 * Osage River Agency
 * Ottawa Agency
 * Potawatomi Agency
 * Shawnee Agency
 * Upper Arkansas Agency
 * Upper Missouri Agency
 * Upper Platte Agency
 * Wichita Agency 1857-1878
 * Wyandot Subagency 1839-1863, 1870-1872

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...)

The following list of Indian Schools in Kansas 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.


 * Hampton Institute
 * Haskell Institute
 * Kaw Mission School
 * Kickapoo School

Family History Library

 * John Gill Pratt Papers 1834-1899 13 films Family History Library 1st film 0812758
 * Central Superintendency of Indian Affairs 1813-1878 108 films M 856 Family History Library 1st film: 1602893

Online Links
Kansas Native American Genealogy

Kansas Plains and Emigrant Tribes

See Also:

 * Kansas Church Records for a list of missions
 * Kansas History for a calendar of events
 * Kansas Military Records for a list of forts