Fort Lapwai Indian Agency (Idaho)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Nez Perce

History
The Fort Lapwai Agency was a continuance of the older Nez Perce Agency and was given the name when the Superintendent of the Fort Lapwai Indian School was assigned the duties of Indian agent in 1902. It operated under that name until 1933, when it was combined with the Coeur d'Alene Agency.

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.

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency from 1902 thru 1933. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 145-148. 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 ). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.