Upper Arkansas Indian Agency

History
The Upper Arkansas Agency was established in 1855 to serve the Indians living along the Arkansas River in what is now eastern Colorado and western Kansas. The principal tribes for which this agency was responsible were the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho, although the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache (Kiowa-Apache) and Caddo were also under their jurisdiction for a time. These tribes had previously been assigned to the Upper Platte Agency.

The agency was under the Colorado Superinendency 1861-1880

In 1864, a separate Kiowa Agency was created, which took jurisdiction over all but the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.

The agency moved often and was at the following locations for the years listed:


 * 1855-1861 -- at Bent's Fort in Colorado
 * 1861-1862 -- at Fort Wise in Kansas
 * 1862-1866 -- at Fort Lyon in Kansas (with a short stay at Fort Zarah in Kansas)
 * 1866-1869 -- at Fort Larned in Kansas
 * 1869-1874 -- at Darlington, Oklahoma, due to the move of the Cheyenne and Arapaho to Oklahoma.

In 1874, the name was officially changed to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Agency.

Agents and Appointment Dates
John W. Whitfield 1855, Robert C. Miller 1855, William W. Bent 1859, Albert G. Boone October 17, 1860, Samuel G. Colley July 26, 1861, and Ichabod C. Taylor August 3, 1865, Edward W. Wynkoop 1866, Brinton Darlington 1869, John D. Miles 1872

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 these offices.

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Upper Arkansas Agency, 1855-1874, have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M234, rolls 878-882. Copies are available at the National Archives and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their ).