The Foreman Transcripts
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, seven volumes
The seven volumes of Foreman Transcripts: Commissioner of Indian Affairs are compilations of letters, documents, and other records consisting of information about tribal relations and matters. Grant Foreman transcribed the material in a typewritten format from originals located at the Office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC, in the 1930s. Many letters are written by the commissioners to Indian agents and superintendents as well as letters written to the commissioner giving updates about tribal matters. All seven volumes cover topics that include, but are not limited to, removal, treaties, allotments, missionaries, rations, and education.
These volumes cover a large range of dates in the nineteenth century; the earliest letter is dated 1817. Volumes two through six are organized by tribe, and the letters and manuscript transcriptions are in chronological order.
View Volumes 1–6
These volumes include copies of manuscripts in the Office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC. Use the links below to view the volumes in PDF format. Each PDF includes bookmarks to help you navigate through the volume.
- Volume 1. Western Superintendency: miscellaneous and schools
- Volume 2. Chickasaw, Delaware, Osage, Quapaw, Seneca, Shawnee
- Volume 3. Choctaw
- Volume 4. Cherokee
- Volume 5. Creek
- Volume 6. Seminole
View Volume 7
This volume includes copies of manuscripts in the Office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and also copies of bills of lading covering articles shipped up the Arkansas River from 1858 to 1860. Use the link below to view the volume in PDF format. The PDF includes bookmarks to help you navigate through the volume.
Superintendent for Five Civilized Tribes, twenty volumes
The twenty volumes of the Foreman Transcripts: Superintendents for the Five Civilized Tribes contain transcriptions of original records that were created by Indian agents and superintendents who worked closely with tribal members in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The records were stored in the federal building in Muskogee, Oklahoma, before the archives were brought to the Oklahoma Historical Building in Oklahoma City by an act of Congress on March 24, 1934. The collection as a whole is known as the American Indian Archives at the Oklahoma Historical Society Research Division. These bound volumes do not include every document within the American Indian Archives but are primarily transcriptions of documents selected by Grant Foreman. The volumes are mostly separated by tribe and topic, although there is some cross-referencing with other tribes and tribal members relating to foreign affairs.
View Volumes 1–20
These volumes contain copies of manuscripts in the Office of the Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes, Muskogee, Oklahoma. Use the links below to view the volume in PDF format.
- Volume 1. Cherokee: October 21, 1872–June 19, 1908
- Volume 2. Choctaw: February 24, 1831–December 22, 1900
- Volume 3. Choctaw: February 5, 1901–October 7, 1908
- Volume 4. Choctaw-Chickasaw: October 7, 1898–September 23, 1909
- Volume 5. Creek: February 21, 1898–May 4, 1907
- Volume 6. Miscellaneous: November 8, 1895–May 10, 1916
- Volume 7.
Creek–Agricultural Leases
Creek–Orphan Asylum
Creek–Attorneys
Creek–Constitution and Laws
Creek–Courts
Creek–Doctors
Creek–Elections
Creek–Estrays
Creek–Ferries and Toll Bridges
Creek–Intruders
Creek–Land Division
Creek–Attorneys’ Licenses
Creek–Minerals - Volume 8.
Creek–National Council
Creek–Outbreaks - Volume 9.
Creek–Pardons
Creek–Pastures and Stock
Creek–Indigents’ Pensions
Creek–Per Capita Payment
Creek–Principal Chief
Creek–Railroads
Creek–Federal Relations
Creek–Foreign Relations
Creek–Saw and Grist Mills - Volume 10.
Creek–Schools
Creek–Townsites
Creek–Traders - Volume 11.
Creek–Letters and Acts signed by Pleasant Porter - Volume 12.
Cherokee–Orphan Asylum
Cherokee–Attorneys
Cherokee–Auditor
Cherokee–Buildings
Cherokee–Cattle
Cherokee–Census
Cherokee–Citizenship
Cherokee–Doctors
Cherokee–Elections
Cherokee–Estrays
Cherokee–Federal Relations - Volume 13.
Cherokee–Ferry
Cherokee–Foreign Relations
Cherokee–Hay
Cherokee–Intruders
Cherokee–Land Division
Cherokee–Minerals
Cherokee–Schools
Cherokee–Townsites
Cherokee–Traders - Volume 14. Cherokee–Census Roll of 1835
- Volume 15. Students of Cherokee Male Seminary: 1876–1909
- Volume 16. Students of Cherokee Female Seminary: 1876–1904
- Volume 17.
Chickasaw–Agricultural Leases
Chickasaw–Attorneys
Chickasaw–Buildings
Chickasaw–Cattle
Chickasaw–Citizenship
Chickasaw–Federal Relations
Chickasaw–Ferries
Chickasaw–Foreign Relations
Chickasaw–Hunting and Fishing
Chickasaw–Intruders
Chickasaw–Land Division
Chickasaw–Laws, Compilation and Publishing
Chickasaw–Marriage
Chickasaw–Minerals
Chickasaw–National Council
Chickasaw–Per Capita
Chickasaw–Permits to Non-Citizens - Volume 18.
Chickasaw–Police
Chickasaw–Railroads
Chickasaw–Roads
Chickasaw–Schools
Chickasaw–Telephone
Chickasaw–Timber
Chickasaw–Townsites
Chickasaw–Traders
Chickasaw–Tribal Officers - Volume 19.
Choctaw–Cattle
Choctaw–Citizenship
Choctaw–Doctors
Choctaw–Federal Relations
Choctaw–Minerals
Choctaw–Principal Chief
Choctaw–Schools - Volume 20. Dawes Commission
London Public Records, three volumes
The three volumes of Foreman Transcripts: London Public Records consist of typed transcriptions of letters, speeches, recorded conversations, and other records regarding relations between tribes and the British government and military. Most of the documents are dated 1766, although there are some transcriptions dated as early as 1727. These transcripts give great insight into early encounters with American Indians prior to the creation of the United States of America, and give researchers the opportunity to understand early interactions between tribes and an established government. Some letters detail intertribal relations, while transcriptions of recorded conversations (often referred to as “talks”) provide insight on the intentions of tribal members to negotiate agreements.
These transcriptions mostly contain information related to the Five Tribes, but also include information pertaining to other tribes due to the nature of intertribal relationships. The original records were kept by the Public Records Office in London and contain manuscripts from Colonial Office Records within the London Public Record Office.
View volumes 1–3
These volumes are copies of documents in the Public Record Office (London), Colonial Office. Use the links below to view the volumes in PDF format. Each PDF includes bookmarks to help you navigate through the volume.
