Tule River Indian Agency (California)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Tule (Tularenos), Tejon, Kings River, Mono, Kawai, Wikchamni, and Kern River (Tubatulabal) Bands

History
The Tule River Agency was established in 1864 on the Tule River. A farm on the Tule River had been established by 1858 and was attached to the Tejon Agency. In 1863, that farm was made a reservation and the Indians formerly at Tejon and at Kings River were moved to that farm (reservation). In 1876, the agency was moved to a new reservation on the South Fork of the Tule River in southeastern Tulare County. Tule River Agency, California, 1897-1936. The agency was abolished in 1924 and its duties were transferred to the Sacramento Agency.

Agents and Appointment Dates
George S. Hoffman (special) June 1, 1864, Charles Maltby July 19, 1867, Lt. J. H. Purcell June 12, 1869, Charles Maltby January 23, 1871, Joel B. Vosburgh September 22, 1873, C. G. Belknap October 2, 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.

Some of the historical recordsof the Tule River Agency are in the Pacific Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in San Francisco. Among them are:


 * Census records, 1897-1936
 * Agency reports and administrative records, 1913-1923
 * School records, 1915-1923
 * Medical records and vital statistics, 1919-1938

Reports of Inspection of the Field Jurisdictions of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1873-1900 have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of Microcopy Number M1070. The reports for Tule River Agency, 1884-1887, are on roll 53 of that Microcopy set. Copies are available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their ).

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at the Tule River Agency for 1885-1887, and 1915-1923. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, roll 594. 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 ). Annual census rolls were also taken under the name of Mission Tule River Agency for 1886, 1888, 1893, and 1894 thru 1903. They are on rolls 257-259 of Microcopy M595 (FHL ). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Tule River Indian Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Tule River Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 72, Tule River Indian Reservation, in Tulare County, California.

Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Tule River Agency, 1908-1923, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, Roll 156, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (their.

Records Available through the Family History Library

 * Census Records, 1934-1940. FHL film: 976980 item 2


 * Vital Records, 1925-1938. FHL film: 976980 item 1