Seneca Indian Agency (New York)

United States

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous People of New York

Seneca Indian Agency (New York)

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Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency

The tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy -- Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora, Oneida, and Mohawk.

History

The Six Nations Agency (also called the Seneca Agency in New York) was established in 1792 and was located on western New York. The majority of the Indians under this agency were Seneca, although the St. Regis Band of the Iroquois was assigned to the Six Nations Agency, even though they were not considered a part of the Six Nations. Also, the Stockbridge, Munsee, and Brotherton Indians (all of which were Algonquin) and the Oneida Indians were under the Six Nations Agency until they moved to Wisconsin. Some of the Seneca Indians living in Ohio were also assigned to the Piqua Agency.

The Six Nations Agency was located at Canandaigua, New York until 1829; at Medina from 1829 to 1832; and at Buffalo after 1832.

The Six Nations Agency was reduced to a subagency in 1818. At the beginning of 1835, the name of the Six Nations Agency was changed to the New York Agency.

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 the agencies.

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1901 thru 1907. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 461-470. Copies of these records are also available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their microfilm numbers 581498-581499 and 581479-581480). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Six Nations Agency, 1824-1834, have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M234, Roll 832. Copies are available at the National Archives and at the Family History Library and its family history centers on their microfilm roll number 1661562.

References

• American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998.
  
• Hill, Edward E. (comp.). Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981.
  
• Hill, Edward E. The Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880: Historical Sketches. New York, New York: Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc., 1974.
  
• Historical Sketches for Jurisdictional and Subject Headings Used for the Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880. National Archives Microcopy T1105.
• Preliminary Inventory No. 163: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Services. Available online