Flathead Indian Agency (Montana)

The Flathead Indian Agency is the administrative office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Flathead Reservation in northern Montana. Its supervising office in the Bureau of Indian Affairs is the Portland Area Office.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Flathead, Upper Pend d'Oreille, Kootenai, Lower Kalispel, Spokan

History
The Flathead Agency was established in 1854 and was located near the junction of the Flathead and Jocko Rivers. The first tribes under its jurisdiction were the Flathead, Upper Pend d'Oreille, and Kutenai Indians. The Flathead Agency was temporarily consolidated with the "Washington East of the Cascades" Agency in 1857, but was re-established as a full agency in 1861. For a short time, it also operated as the Eastern District Agency under the Washington Superintendency. The Lower Kalispel moved to the Flathead Reservation in 1887 and the Spokan Indians did so in 1894.

Agents and Appointment Dates
Chales Hutchins transfered from Nez Perce Agency, September 30, 1862, Augustus H. Chapman  September 22, 1865, John W. Wells  November 9, 1866,  M. M. McCauley  July 25, 1868, Maj. Alvin S. Galbreath  June 11, 1869, Lt. George E. Ford   July 22, 1870,  Charles S. Jones  September 9, 1870, Daniel Shanahan   November 15, 1872, Peter Whaley  April 29, 1874,  Charles S. Medary  April  30, 1875, and  Peter Ronan  April 12, 1877.

Records
Many of the historical records of this agency are housed in the Rocky Mountain Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Denver, Colorado. Records in that collection which may be of assistance to the genealogist include:


 * Census rolls, 1913-1940
 * School censuses, 1912-1943
 * Day and boarding schools attendance reports, 1899-1917

Many more records of lesser genealogical value are also in this collection.

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 Flathead Agency, 1883-1900, are on roll 11 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 microfilm roll number 1617684).

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1889-1893, 1895-1897, 1900-1907, and from 1909 thru 1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 107 thru 116. 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 microfilm numbers 575799-575800 and 576464-576471). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Flathead Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Flathead Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 213, Flathead Agency, in Missoula County, Montana.

Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Flathead Agency, 1907-1935, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, Rolls 42-43, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, beginning with their microfilm numbers 1724260-1724261. Reports for some years are missing.

Agency Records 1899-1952 (Census, Heirship, Allotment,School). FHL film: 1026832-1026837