Warm Springs Indian Agency (Oregon)

The Warm Springs Agency is a currently operating agency in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Its supervising office is the Portland Area Office.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Cayuse, Chinook, Paiute,Walla Walla, and Wasco

History
The Warm Springs Agency was established in 1851 for the Indians in Oregon, east of the Cascade Mountains. It was also called the Umatilla Agency, Eastern Oregon Agency, Northeastern Oregon Agency, Middle Oregon Agency, and Dalles Agency. It was originally located at the Lower Crossing of the Utilla (Umatilla) River and was responsible for the Cayuse, Shoshoni, and Nez Perce Indians.

In 1854, the agency moved to The Dalles. At that time, it was responsible for the Wasco, Walla Walla, Cayuse, Shoshoni, and Umatilla Indians. At the same time, the Southeastern District Agency was established for the Indians south of the 44th parallel.

In 1856, the Warm Springs Reservation was established and in 1861, the agent moved his headquarters to that reservation and the name of the agency was settled.

In 1917, the Roseburg Agency was discontinued and the Indians assigned to them were transferred to the Warm Springs Agency. In 1936, the Indians that had been assigned to the Roseburg Agency were re-assigned to the Umatilla Agency.

Agents and Appointment Date
Elias Wampole 1850 at Utilla, Robert R. Thompson 1853 and Ami P. Dennison 1857 at The Dalles, William Logan 1861, John Smith 1865, Bvt. Capt. W.W. Mitchell 1869 and John Smith 1870 at Warm Springs

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 records of the Warm Springs Agency are in the Pacific Alaska Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Seattle, including:


 * Census records, 1880-1934
 * School reports, 1891-1915
 * Health records, 1900-1922
 * Tribal court records, 1900-1934
 * Census for the Burns Colony, 1929-1946
 * And other administrative and financial records

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Warm Springs Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 183, Warm Spring Indian Reservation, in Crook County, Oregon, and in District 183, Warm Spring Indian Reservation, in Wasco County, Oregon.

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 Warm Springs Agency, 1882-1899, are on roll 55 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 this agency for 1886-1891, 1895, 1897-1911, and 1913-1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 635 thru 639. 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.

Records Available through the Family History Library

 * Birth and death records 1924- 1933 FHL film 583097


 * Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Warm Springs Agency, 1907-1937, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, Rolls 164-166, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, beginning with their . Reports for some years are missing.


 * Warm Springs Agency Records 1879-1952. FHL films: 10221379-1021385, 1022004