Colville Indian Agency (Washington)

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

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

Indian Tribes Associated With The Agency
Colville, Spokan, Coeur d'Alene, Lake, Nespelim, Okanagan, Kalispel, Sanpoil, Methow, Joseph's Band of Nez Perce, Moses Band of Columbia, and Wenatchi.

History
The Colville Agency was established in 1872 for the Colville Reservation and later the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Reservations in Washington and Idaho. Colville Agency was also responsible for other non-reservation Indians of the area.

In 1905, a separate Coeur d'Alene Agency was established and in 1912, the Spokane Agency was established. In 1925, the Spokane Agency was again consolidated with the Colville Agency and became a subagency under Colville.

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.

Many of the historical records of this agency, 1865-1970, are housed in the Pacific Alaska Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Seattle, including:


 * Annuity rolls, 1891-1967
 * Census records, 1894-1970
 * School records and school census, 1897-1944
 * Records of births and deaths, 1914-1944
 * Many other administrative and financial records

See also records of the Spokane Agency.

Annuity Rolls 1892-1948 FS Library film: 1020977

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 Blackfeet Agency, 1882-1900 are on roll 7 of that Microcopy set. Copies are available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the FamilySearch Library and its FamilySearch centers (their ).

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1885-1888 and from 1890 thru 1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 49 thru 54. Copies of these records are also available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the FamilySearch Library and its FamilySearch centers (their ). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Colville Indian Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Colville Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 119, Colville Indian Reservation, in Ferry County, Washington, in District 119, Colville Indian Reservation, in Okanogan County, Washington, and in District 119, Colville Indian Reservation, in Stevens County, Washington.

Washington State University Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections has three Colville Indian Agency-related records collections. The John A. Simms papers which are fully digitized and included in the collection of Colville Indian Agent records from George A. Page (first civilian agent), William P. Winans (agent from 1870-1872), and John A. Simms (agent from 1872-1883). The William Parkhurst Winans collection includes the 1871 Salish-speaking tribes censuses and other Colville Indian Agency records. The John McAdams Webster collection includes correspondence, land sales and census records.

Records Available through the FamilySearch Library
Enrollment Salish Indians - Colville Agency- FS Library Film 1020997

Heirship (Probate) 1911-1940 FS Library Film: 1020971

Individual History Cards late 1880's-early 1900's FS Library Film: 1020972

Land and Allotment 1887-1939 FS Library Film: 1020998-1021002

School Records 1891-1945 FS Library Film: 1020969-1020970

Vital Records 1909-1943 FS Library Film: 1020973-1020976 and 1920-1938 FS Library Film: 574215

Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Colville Agency, 1907-1938, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, rolls 25-26, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City (their ).