Arkansas Indian Agency (Arkansas)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Cherokee, Choctaw, Caddo, Quapaw, and others.

History
In 1802, the Factor at the Government Trading Post (Factor) on the Arkansas River in Arkansas was appointed temporary agent for all the Indians "at Arkansas." He was placed under the supervision of the Cherokee agent in Tennessee. In 1817, an assistant agent for Indians in Arkansas was appointed, to report to the Governor of Missouri Territory. That position was made a full agent in 1818. By 1823, the Arkansas Agency was restricted to the supervision of only the Cherokee Indians in Arkansas. By 1834, most of the Indians had been removed from Arkansas and were being supervised by agencies for specific tribes, and the Arkansas Agency had been abolished or absorbed into those newer agencies.

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.

Most of the correspondence and records of this early agency are filed under "Cherokee West" in the records of the Office of Indian Affairs, or under the agencies specific to the Cherokee, Choctaw, Quapaw, and other tribes.