Klamath Indian Agency (California)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Klamath, Hoopa Valley, Smith River

History
The Klamath Agency was established in 1856 and was responsible for the Indians of northern California, particularly those near the mouth of the Klamath River. This agency also had some responsibility for the Hoopa Valley and Smith River Indians, as well as some of the other Indians of northern California. The Indians served by the Klamath Agency were assigned to the Northern District when the agencies were discontinued in 1860. Most of the Klamath Indians served by this agency were leter associated with the Hoopa Valley Agency.

The Klamath Agency in Oregon is an entirely different agency and should not be confused with the one in California.

Agents and Appointment Dates
James A. Patterson April 18, 1856, H.P. Heintzleman (subagent) June 29, 1857 and David E. Buel May 18, 1858

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

For a description of the various records, their content, and their availability, link to the pages for each type of record. Each individual agency also has a page describing its history and the location of their records. An alphabetical list of the agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs can be found below. They are also linked under the topic "American Indians" for each state. Pages for individual sub-agencies are listed alphabetically under the category of "American Indian Subagencies" and are linked under the topic of "American Indians" for each state where they existed.

Some historical records of this agency, including correspondence, etc., are part of the records of the California Superintendency records.

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1909 thru 1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 200 thru 209. Copies of these records are also available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the FamilySearch Library and its family history centers (their ). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.