Navajo Indian Agency

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Navajo

History
The original Navajo Agency was established in 1852 for the Navajo Indians in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Although this agency was located at Fort Defiance, Arizona, it was considered by the Office of Indian Affairs to be a New Mexico Agency.

After 1901, this agency was gradually divided into several independent agencies (known variously as Eastern Navajo Agency, Northern Navajo Agency, Western Navajo Agency, Chinle Agency, San Juan Agency, Shiprock Agency, etc.). A Navajo Agency continued to exist at Fort Defiance, Arizona and was sometimes called the Fort Defiance Agency. In 1935, all of the independent Navajo agencies were consolidated into one agency called the Navajo Service, with headquarters in Window Rock, Arizona.

In 1949, the Window Rock Area Office was established and a Navajo Agency was created under the Area Office. Some of the former agencies were reduced to subagency status at that time.

Records
Some of the records of the Navajo Agency (Fort Defiance), 1881-1936, are at the Pacific Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Laguna Niguel, California, including:


 * Records of students transferred to off-reservation schools, 1888-1912
 * Registers of students, 1907-1922
 * Student case files, 1940-1972
 * School census cards, 1953-1979
 * Many other administrative and financial records of the agency, 1881-1979

A few administrative records of the agency, 1936-1952 and 1961-1970, are also in the Rocky Mountain Regional Archives of NARA in Denver.

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Navajo Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Navajo Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 75, Navajo Indian Reservation, in Apache County, Arizona, as District 75, Navajo Indian Reservation, in Coconino County, Arizona, and as District 75, Navajo Reservation, in Navajo County, Arizona.

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Navajo Indians in New Mexico. The Indians residing on the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Reservation in 1900 were under the jurisdiction of the Navajo Agency (New Mexico) and are listed on Indian Population Schedules as District 183, Navajo Agency, in Bernalillo County, and as District 183, Navajo Reservation, in San Juan County, New Mexico.