View largerThis 1934 telegram informs Grant Foreman of the legislation's approval.

American Indian Archives Collection

The archives include federal records placed in the society’s custody in 1934 by an act of Congress. Containing more than 3.5 million documents and 6,000 volumes, the collection represents 66 tribal nations. These tribal nations either were relocated by removal or are native to the area. These records include a variety of official documents and information relating to tribes in Indian and Oklahoma Territory.

History of the Collection

In 1893, Congress provided for the creation of the Commission of the Five Tribes (Dawes Commission) and authorized this body to meet with representatives of the Five Tribes to persuade them to consent to the extinguishment of title to their lands. This effort was met with resistance and rejection. In 1898, the Curtis Act stated that the commission prepare a new census for each of the Five Tribes. The census would be used to determine those individuals who were citizens of the Five Tribes and therefore entitled to allotment of land in severalty. It was necessary to acquire many of the national records of the tribes involved to carry out the commission’s responsibilities. These records were taken from the various national repositories to Muskogee, where the main commission office was located. The Curtis Act also provided that the five governments be abolished on March 6, 1906, prior to Oklahoma’s statehood. However, at this time, the commission’s work was not completed, and an act of Congress on April 26, 1906, provided for the continuance of the tribal government with limited autonomy.

The records, which were later stored in the federal building at Muskogee, caught the attention of Dr. Grant Foreman, who believed that they were of great historical value and should be inventoried, organized, and placed where they would be accessible to historians. He gained the permission of the Indian Office to direct the calendaring of the documents in 1929. Later, he and others were instrumental in having the collection placed in the Oklahoma Historical Building in Oklahoma City. An act of Congress on March 27, 1934, (H. R. 5631 Public No. 133) transferred the records to the Oklahoma Historical Society’s care, although ownership remained with the federal government.

The collection ranges from 1860 to 1930. Records after 1930 as well as records from the Osage Nation can be found at the Fort Worth branch of the National Archives.

The Research Division is an affiliate of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). These records are part of National Archives Record Group 75 (Bureau of Indian Affairs) stored at the Oklahoma Historical Society under An act of Congress, March 27, 1934, (H. R. 5631 Public No. 133) and through an Agreement with NARA. Additional Bureau of Indian Affairs records for Oklahoma may be found at the National Archives. For more information, see BIA Records: Oklahoma.

When requesting materials from the collection, make sure to include the tribe/agency and the box number. If the records have been microfilmed, we require patrons to use the microfilm unless the film is unreadable or access has been arranged with the archivist. This is to help protect the original records.

Digitization Status
The American Indian Archives Collection is being digitized on demand as requested by patrons or tribal entities. We have received permission from the National Archives to make digitized materials available on The Gateway to Oklahoma History. This is a work in progress, and additional materials will be added.



Tribal Nations with Records Included in the Collection

Records Removed from the Tribal Governments

  • Cherokee Nation
  • Chickasaw Nation
  • Choctaw Nation
  • Seminole Nation (mostly Mekusukey Academy records)
  • Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Bureau of Indian Affairs/Dawes Commission

  • Union Agency (mineral leases and removal of restriction records)
  • Dawes Commission (commission records, townsite records, correspondence)
  • Chilocco Indian School

Indian Agent/Agency Records
Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency – Includes Cheyenne, Arapaho, and combined records; also includes Cantonment, Red Moon, Seger school records

Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Agency – Includes Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Wichita and Affiliated Bands, Caddo, Delaware, Keechi, Tawakoni, and Waco. School records include Anadarko school, Kiowa and Comanche boarding school, Fort Sill Indian school, Rainy Mountain school, and Wichita/Riverside boarding school records.

Pawnee, Ponca, Otoe, and Missouria Agency – Includes Pawnee, Ponca, Otoe, Missouria, Kansa, Kaw, NS Tonkawa

Quapaw Agency - Quapaw, Cayuga, Delaware, Citizen Potawatomi, Kansas, Miami, Modoc, New York, Nez Perce, Oneida, Ottawa, Peoria Seneca, Wyandotte; also Miami, Modoc, Ottawa, Peoria, Quapaw, and Seneca-Shawnee. School records include Miami school, Modoc school, Ottawa Mission school, Peoria Indian School, Quapaw school, and Seneca-Shawnee-Wyandotte school (SSW school) records.

Sac and Fox and Shawnee Agency - Sac and Fox, Shawnee, Absentee Shawnee, Kickapoo, Mexican Kickapoo, Citizen Potawatomi, Iowa, Otoe, Ottawa, Oneida, and Tonkawa. School records include Sac and Fox School, Haskell Institute, St. Benedict's Indian School, St. Mary’s Academy, Sacred Heart Mission, Absentee Shawnee School, and Shawnee Indian Training School

Additional Resources

Maps
Cherokee; Chickasaw; Choctaw; Muscogee (Creek); Seminole; Cheyenne and Arapaho; Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache; Otoe and Missouria; Indian Territory; and government reports

Microfilm
Microfilm of the collection are included with tribal or agency records. These are additional materials related to the collection and include indexes to Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw, and Muscogee (Creek) records.

Microfilm Guides (digital and physical copies) - Listing of microfilmed materials with a general description of items associated with the tribal/agency records as well as the National Archives microfilm available in the Research Center

Indexes - Several indexes have been created to help navigate the records. These are available on the Oklahoma Historical Society website, including:

  • Dawes Commission school reports
  • Plains tribes individual Indian files
  • Removal of Restrictions for personal and townsite purposes
  • Partial index of the card file (A–D is available)
  • Chilocco Indian School index
  • American Indian Census on microfilm


Records of the Five Tribes

The records of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole date from 1856 to 1906. These records contain primary documentation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as well as district and county records. Included are census records, accounts of legislative sessions, court dockets, correspondence, election records, treasurer’s records, materials relating to land allotment and leases, and school records. Extensive information about agriculture, citizenship, education, American Indian-white relations, law enforcement, and a variety of aspects of life in Indian Territory can be found in these documents.



Timeline of the American Indian Archives

  • 1902 Curator W. P. Campbell writes federal officials at Muskogee regarding collecting records of the Five Tribes (FCT).
  • 1927 Grant Foreman authors resolution to acquire the records of the FCT while serving as a member of the OHS board of directors.
  • 1928 The OHS board authorizes the employment of a person to begin an inventory of the records of the FTC housed in the attic of the Muskogee Federal Courthouse. It would take several months before a person is hired to undertake that inventory.
  • 1929 Rella Watts of Muskogee, Oklahoma, is hired to inventory FTC records. She would spend the next several years in all kinds of weather to complete the task.

    Meanwhile the Secretary of the Interior requires the OHS board to build a fireproof building as a condition before records would be considered for transfer. The Oklahoma legislature appropriates $500,000 to build such a facility. Construction begins in late 1929.
  • 1930 November 16, the new Oklahoma Historical Society building is dedicated with great fanfare.
  • 1932 Martha Buntin is hired to begin a survey of Indian Agency records held across the state.
  • 1933 May, Congressman William Wirt Hastings (D), a member of the Cherokee Nation from Oklahoma, introduced House Resolution 5631 authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to place tribal records including Indian Agency records in addition to the Five Tribes.
  • 1934 March 27, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs legislation enacted by Congress, granting to the Oklahoma Historical Society custody of certain records for preservation and research.
  • 1934 November 14, Dr. and Mrs. Grant Foreman and Rella Looney (formerly Watts) come to Oklahoma City placing the records of the Five Tribes in the basement of the Historical Building.

    November 28, the formal opening of the American Indian Archives occurs. The first researcher is Mr. Foster T. Bean of Kilgore, Texas, a member of the Cherokee Nation. In 1994 during the 60th anniversary of the opening of the American Indian Archives, it was learned that Mr. Bean, then age ninety, was still living in Kilgore, Texas.
  • 1937–1938 The Works Progress Administration collects some 25,000 oral interviews from across the state. Bound in 112 volumes now known as the Indian-Pioneer History Collection, they are deposited with the American Indian Archives in 1938.
  • 1940s Martha Buntin brings in agency records from all federally operated agencies except the Osage.
  • 1974 Rella Looney retires after forty-five years of faithful service. Martha Royce Blaine, PhD, succeeds Mrs. Looney as American Indian records archivist.
  • 1976 August 1, a National Endowment for the Humanities grant begins to microfilm the tribal records.
  • 1978 Memorandum of Understanding signed between OHS and the National Archives.
  • 1980 June 30, the NEH project ends with nearly 1,000 rolls of tribal records preserved on microfilm.
  • 1981 March 31, Martha Blaine retires. April 1, Mary Lee Ervin Boyle succeeds Blaine. Sometime in 1981, Boyle requests the board to change the name of the division from the American Indian Archives to the Archives and Manuscripts Division. Late in the year, manuscripts and photographs are transferred to the archives from the library.
  • 1982 The Oral History Collection is transferred from Oklahoma Christian College, now known as Oklahoma Christian University.
  • 1984 The Newspaper Department is placed under the Archives Division.
  • 1989 Mary Lee Boyle retires.
  • 1990 W. D. Welge succeeds Boyle as director of division.
  • 1994 November, the 60th anniversary of the Indian Archives is celebrated. Former archivists Rella Looney, Martha Blaine, and Mary Lee Boyle attend.
  • 1998 Planning for the new building begins.
  • 2003 February, the Research Library is merged with the Archives to create the Research Center.
  • 2005 July, only the Research Division remains in the old Wiley Post Historical Building.
  • 2006 Spring, Research Division moves into new Oklahoma History Center.
  • 2006 April 19, the grand opening of the Research Center occurs with ribbon-cutting ceremony.
  • 2009 October 28–29, the 75th anniversary celebration of Indian Archives takes place at the Oklahoma History Center.