Dawes Commission Enrollment Records

United States Oklahoma American Indian Research Indians of Oklahoma
Dawes Commission Enrollment Records

Use these records to prove and ancestor was a member of the Five Civilized Tribes.

Finding an ancestor's name on the Dawes Commission Final Rolls is the best way to prove he or she was accepted in one of these five American Indian tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, or Seminole in Indian Territory, also known as Oklahoma Territory, between 1898 to 1906. More were added by an act of Congress in 1914. People who lived outside of Oklahoma were unlikely to be on the Dawes Rolls even if they were in one of these five tribes.

The "Final Rolls" included both the approved (to receive land) and the disapproved. Only about 40 percent of those who applied were accepted on the final rolls. The application packets of the other 60 percent who were rejected may still contain useful genealogical information.

Use these records if your ancestor was:

• A member of either the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, or Seminole Indian tribe in the southeastern United States.
• Applicants were required to be living in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to qualify for tribal enrollment. (The 1900 Federal census will help you determine if they were living and where).
• Alive during the enrollment period between 1896 and 1905.
• If your ancestor died prior to 1893, you could search for surviving children or grandchildren in the Dawes Commission records.

Origin of the Records. In 1893 Congress established a commission to exchange Indian tribal lands in the southeastern United States for new land allotments to Indian individuals, and open the remainder of land in Oklahoma for settlement by non-Indians. The Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes was also called the Dawes Commission after its chairman, Senator Dawes. More than 250,000 people applied to this commission for enrollment and land. Just over 101,000 were eventually approved from 883,772 application packets.

Content of the Records.

• Enrollment cards (also called census cards) include residence, roll numbers, names of family members, relationships, ages, sex, degree of Indian blood, enrollment date, place and number, parents and their enrollment date or place, spouses, divorces, children or grandchildren.

• Applications for enrollment include affidavits, vital records, letters, questionnaires, and decisions mentioning relatives, dates, and places.

• Letter logs include name, address, date of letter, file number, date received, subject, and action taken. Letters are with the applications.

Step 1. Use the Indexes to Find an Ancestor’s Roll Number

Search Online Indexes. There are five sets of online indexes to the Dawes Commission papers. Search each and note the differences, if any, between them.

• National Archives The Dawes Commission (1) Instructions how to search for enrollment cards, and Dawes Final Rolls Index, and (2) 101,000 Dawes Final Rolls showing Digital book images

• National Archives Index to the Final Rolls of the Dawes Commission. In order by tribe, and then by the first two letters of the person's name. Shows person's name and roll number. Digital book images.

• Access Genealogy transcript of Dawes Final Rolls Index, and Dawes Final Rolls
• fold3 76,270 Dawes Enrollment (Census) Cards, and 883,772 Application Packets
• Ancestry Dawes Index 1898-1914 52,631 names; and Overturned 1896 13,980 names
• Oklahoma Historical Society Dawes Final Rolls

If you find it, copy all the information from each entry, and skip to Step 2.

If not, then you can try the following book-on-microfilm index as well.

• United States, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, Index to the Final Rolls of the Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory (1907. Reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 2007). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Fiche 6051501 (set of 8); Film 962366; Ref Book 970.1 Un3c index. The film and fiche are in cabinets on the FHL 2nd floor. The fiche is clearer. The book edition is in the Family History Library reference area.
  

Images of this book are on the Internet at www.accessgenealogy.com/native/finalrolls/.

Search for an ancestor’s name in the index. The index is arranged in tribal groups. You may need to search for the name in roughly alphabetical order by each tribe and all tribal groups listed (By Blood, Newborn, Minor, By Marriage, Freedmen and .....) in the following table of contents:

Tribe	Pg.
Choctaws By Blood New Born Choctaws by Blood Minor Choctaws by Blood Choctaws by Marriage Choctaw Freedmen Minor Choctaw Freedmen Mississippi Choctaws New Born Miss. Choctaws Minor Mississippi Choctaws	1 91 101 107 117 151 155 164 165
Chickasaws By Blood New Born Chickasaws by Blood Minor Chickasaws by Blood Chickasaws by Marriage Chickasaw Freedmen	167 197 201 204 209
Cherokees By Blood Minor Cherokees by Blood Delaware Cherokees Cherokees by Marriage Cherokee Freedmen Minor Cherokee Freedmen	238 428 460 462 464 492
Creeks By Blood New Born Creeks by Blood Minor Creeks by Blood Creek Freedmen New Born Creek Freedmen Minor Creek Freedmen	497 559 568 572 607 613
Seminoles By Blood and Freedmen New Born Seminoles by Blood New Born Seminole Freedmen	616 633 635

Definitions

• By Blood were people who were born members of the tribe.
• New Borns were children born after 1902.
• Minors were children who were added to the rolls in 1906.
• By Marriage were non-citizens or whites who married into the tribe.
• Freedmen, Freedmen Minors, and Freedmen New Borns were former slaves of tribal members, or descendants of former slaves.

Copy the tribal group, and roll number

When you find your ancestor’s name, look at the age (or figure it out). Does it match (within 2-3 years) the age your ancestor was in 1902? If so, write down: (a) the name of his or her tribal group, and (b) the roll number in the right column of the index.

Can’t Find a Name in the Dawes Commission Index?

Before concluding your ancestor’s name is not in the index, consider: Only the first two letters of a name are alphabetical. After that letters may not be in order. For example, Bennett may file before Belvin. The name may be spelled differently, for example, Anne instead of Ann, or Thos. instead of Thomas. Search for variant spellings. Look for your ancestor by his or her English name, Indian name, middle name, nickname, initials, married name, or maiden name. Maybe he or she was listed under a different tribe or category than you expected. Look in each of the 29 sections of the index. Look for your ancestor’s relatives. Relatives may refer to your family. If your ancestor was a Cherokee by Blood you could also search: Bob Blankenship, Dawes Roll “Plus” of Cherokee Nation 1898, 2nd ed. ([Cherokee, North Carolina]: Cherokee Roots Publication, 1994). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Q Book 970.1 B611d) Lists name, census number, Miller roll application number, age, and sex. Rejected Applications. Your ancestor’s application may have been rejected. The Commission eventually rejected 60% of the applications. Only a few rejected applications are in the indexes you just searched. If your ancestor does not seem to be on the Internet, or in these books, you could ask for help by contacting: National Archives, 2600 West 7th Street, Suite 162, Fort Worth, Texas 76107, E-mail: ftworth.archives@nara.gov, Fax: 817-334-5621.

Step 2. Use the Final Rolls to find and copy the census card number

You already may have found the census card number on one or more of the Internet indexes, but if not—

Find the final rolls in either a book, or a book-on-microfilm format.

• United States, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory (1907. Reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publ., 2007). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Film 908371 item 2; Book 970.1 Un3c. The film is in the FHL 2nd floor cabinets. This book is in the FHL 2nd floor reference area.

Search the Final Rolls and copy the census card number.

• Look for the tribal group and roll number you copied during Step 1.
• When you find the roll number and your ancestor’s name, write down the census card number.

Step 3. Find the Census Card on Film and Copy It

You already may have found the census card on the fold3 Internet site listed above, but if not—

Find the microfilm number of the census card.

Find the following entry in the Family History Library Catalog. To open this entry in the catalog, click here.

• United States, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, Enrollment Cards for the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898–1914. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1186. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1981). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Film 1490262-1490353.

Look up the tribal group and census card number to find which of 93 films has the census card (also known as the enrollment card).

Write down the film number of the census card and on your research log.

Retrieve the film, search for the census card in numerical order, and photocopy the card.

Can’t Find a Census Card on the Film? There are three groups of cards: “Straight” for applications approved for enrollment; “R” for rejected applications “D” for doubtful applications. Your ancestor’s card may have a “D” or an “R” number. The catalog lists the “D” and “R” numbers after the “straight” numbers.

Step 4. Find the Application for Enrollment on Film and Copy It

You already may have found the application for enrollment packet on the fold3 Internet site listed above, but if not—

Find the application for enrollment microfilm number.

Find the following entry in the Family History Library Catalog. To open this entry in the catalog, click here.

• United States, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, Applications for Enrollment of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898–1914, National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1301. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1981). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Film starting with 1439798 (468 films).

• Scroll through until you find the film number of the application packet for your ancestor’s tribal group and census card number.
• Write the film number of the application packet on your research log.

Retrieve the film, find, and photocopy the application packet.

• Newborn Choctaw by Blood, Card #66, David Bohanan's Application Packet
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Step 5. Look for Your Ancestor’s Name in the Letter Logs

Letter logs list name, address, date of letter, file number, date received, subject, and action taken. Use the letter logs to find clues that hint at relatives, or point to unexpected Dawes files.

Find the Dawes Commission Letter Logs' microfilm numbers.

Find the following entry in the Family History Library Catalog. To open this entry in the catalog, click here.

• United States, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Index to Letters Received by Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1897–1913, National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1314. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1983). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Films 1694814-36.

Retrieve the microfilms, find, and photocopy your ancestor’s entries in all places found in several letter logs.

The Dawes Commission letter logs are in order chronologically by 17 sets of years, and then alphabetically by the first two letters of the surname. Look for spill-over names at the end of each letter of the alphabet. An ancestor’s name probably appears in only a few of them, but take a few minutes to search each log anyway.

For Further Information

For other Indian records look in the Family History Library Catalog Place Search under

[STATE] — NATIVE RACES

Also look in the Subject Search under the name of the tribe.

See also:

• Dawes Commission Enrollment Records for Five U.S. Indian Tribes
• Eastern Cherokee or Guion Miller Roll
• The U.S. Eastern Cherokee or Guion Miller Roll
• American Indian Enrollment Records

References

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)