Klamath Indian Agency (Oregon)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Klamath, Modoc, Paiute, "Snake," and Pit River who lived on the Klamath Reservation.

History
A special agent was assigned to the Indians of the Klamath Lake area in 1861. That special agent was made a subagent in 1862 and in 1867, the subagent moved onto the Klamath Reservation. The Klamath Agency was made a full agency in 1872. The agency was terminated in 1961. .

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 Klamath Agency, 1867-1952, are in the Pacific Alaska Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Seattle, including records of allotments and annuities, as well as many other administrative and fiscal records of the agency. A brief listing of those records are online at the National Archives web site.

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Klamath Indian Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Klamath Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 179, Klamath Indian Reservation, in Klamath 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 Klamath Agency, 1881-1900 are on rolls 21-22 of that Microcopy set. Copies are available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the FamilySearch Library and its family history centers (their ).

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1885 thru 1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 224-228. 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.

Vital Records with Census FS Library film 576916

Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Klamath Agency, 1907-1936, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, rolls 73-75, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City (their ).

Records Available through the FamilySearch Library

 * Klamath Agency. Vital Statistics, 1894-1952., film: 1028452 item 2.


 * Klamath Agency. School records, 1880-1950., film: 1028443-1028445


 * Klamath Agency. Heirship records. 1896-1952., film: 1028452 item 3- 1028453 item 1


 * Klamath Agency. Land Allotment records and financial accounts, 1877-1952., film: 1028445-1028452, and 1028455 item 2.


 * Klamath Agency. Medical Records 1904-1937. FS Library, film: 1028454 item 2 and 1028455 item 1.


 * Klatmath Agency Census records, 1920-1952., film: 1028453 item 2 and 1028454 item 1.