Alabama Indigenous Peoples

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Indigenous Peoples of Alabama

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Choctaw Pisatuntema Native American in 1909.

Online Resources

• U.S., Ratified Indian Treaties and Chiefs, 1722-1869. Index.
• U.S., Cherokee Baker Roll and Records, 1924-1929. Index.

Indians of Alabama

Learn about the Indigenous Peoples of Alabama, information on the tribes and bands living in Alabama, the State recognized tribes, list of agencies, and links to available records

The word Alabama is from a Choctaw word meaning "thicket-clearer" or vegetation-gatherers."

Tribes and Bands of Alabama

The following list of Native Americans who have lived in Alabama has been compiled from Hodge's Handbook of American Indians... and from Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America. Some may simply be variant spellings for the same tribe.

Tribes: Abihka,Alabama, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Atasi, Chatot, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Eufaula, Fus-hatchee, Hilibi, Hitchiti, Ispokogi, Kan-hatki, Kealedji, Koasati, Kolomi, Mobile, Mukalsa, Muskogee, Napochi, Natchez, Okchai, Okmulgee, Osochi, Pakana, Pawokti, Pilthlako, Sawokli, Shawnee, Taensa, Tohome, Tukabahchee, Tuskegee, Wakokai, Wiwohka, Yamasee, Yuchi.

Bands: Echola Cherokee, Ma-Chis Lower Creek, Mowa Band Choctaw, Principle Creek, Poarch Creek, Star Clan of Muskogee Creek, United Cherokee (Ani-Yum-Wiya Nation).

Cherokee Clans: Wolf, Paint, Deer, Bird, Wild Potato, Long Hair and Blue.

Four of the Five Civilized Tribes are of Alabama: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek. Some of the records unique to the Five Civilized Tribes are now available on line:

• Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes (Dawes Commission) In 1893 Congress established a commission to exchange Indian tribal lands in the southeastern United States for land allotments to individuals in Oklahoma. More than 250,000 people applied to the commission for enrollment and land. Just over 100,000 were approved. The records include Applications for enrollment, Enrollment cards, and Letter logs. Indexes and images on line:

Fold3 National Archives

• Guion Miller Roll - Easter Cherokee In 1902 the Eastern Cherokee sued the United States to get the funds due then under the treaties of 1835, 1836, and 1845. In 1906, the court awarded more than $1 million to be split among the Eastern Cherokees. There were 45,847 applications filed, representing some 90,000 individuals.Indexes and Images on line:

Fold 3
National Archives (Index)
AccessGenealogy (Index)

Alabama State Recognized Tribes

• Alabama Indian Affairs Commission http://aiac.state.al/us/
• To view Geographic map of Tribal Locations
• Tribes recognized by the state of Alabama

Poarch Band of Creek Indians (also recognized by the Federal Government)
5811 Jack Springs Road
Atmore, Al 36502
Phone: 1-251-368-9136

Cher-O-Creek Intra Tribal Indians
P.O. Box 717
Dothan, AL 36302
E-Mail: vit_hamilton@yahoo.com

Cherokee of Southeast Alabama,

Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama
113 Parker Drive
Huntsville, Al 35811
Phone: 1-256-858-0191
E-mail: jstanleylong@bellsouth.net

Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama
630 County Road1281
Falkville, AL 35622-3346
Phone: 1-256-734-7337
E-Mail: echotacherokeetribeofal@yahoo.com

Langley Band of Chickamogee Cherokee Indians in the Southeastern U.S.,

Mowa Band of Choctaw Indians
1080 Red Fox Road
Mount Vernon, Al 36560
Phone: 1-251-829-5500
E-Mail: framonoweaver@yahoocom

Piqua Shawnee Tribe
3412 Wellford Circle
Birmingham, AL 35226
E-Mail: okema@Live.com

Star Clan of Muskogee Creeks
242 County Road 2254
Troy, AL 36079
Phone: 1-334-399-3612
E-Mail: osahwv@charter.net

United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation (formerly United Cherokee Intertribal)
P.O. Box 754
Guntersville, Al 35976
Phone: 1-256-582-2333
E-Mail: ginawilliamson2099@gmail.com

Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe of Alabama
202 North Main
Kinston, Al 36453
Phone:1-334-565-3038
E-Mail: chiefjames@centurytel.net

Cherokees

There are many sources with information about the Cherokees. For example, see:

• Allen, Maud Bliss. Census Records and Cherokee Muster Rolls. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1935. FS Library film 908999 item 2; book 970.3 C424am This source contains the Cherokee census of 1835 of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Two publications listing Cherokees east of the Mississippi in 1835 are:

• Tyner, James W. Those Who Cried: The 16,000: A Record of the Individual Cherokees Listed in the United States Official Census of the Cherokee Nation Conducted in 1835. N.p.: Chi-ga-u, 1974. FS Library book 970.3 C424tj Non-Cherokee census takers in 1835 made lists of Cherokees in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. There are some errors because they did not understand the native languages. The government defined a person as an Indian if he or she had one-quarter degree of Indian blood. The book is indexed and has excellent maps for that period.

This book provides the name of the head of the household and the number of whites and full-, half-, or quarter-blood Indians in the home. It also shows occupations, number of slaves owned, whether the people read English or Cherokee, and may mention if they owned a home, farm, or mill.

• United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Census Roll, 1835, of the Cherokee Indians East of the Mississippi and Index to the Roll, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia. National Archives Microfilm Publications, T0496. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1960. FS Library film 833322

A list is available of the Cherokees living in Alabama in 1851:

• Siler, David W. The Eastern Cherokees, A Census of the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia in 1851. Cottonport, Louisiana: Polyanthus, 1972. FS Library book 970.3 C424sd This list contains the names of each person’s father, mother and children, with their ages and relationship (De Kalb, Jackson, and Marshall Counties). An index is included.

For a history of the Cherokees to about 1835, and a map showing the Cherokee towns in the Alabama area, see:

• Malone, Henry Thompson. Cherokees of the Old South: A People in Transition. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1956. FS Library book 970.3 C424ma See the maps before the preface. At the end of the book there is a bibliography.

Additional Cherokee Records

• United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Cherokee Agency. Records of the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee, 1801–1835. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0208. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1952. FS Library films 1024418–31 These records deal with the entire Cherokee Nation. They contain information about passes given to people during 1801 to 1804 allowing them to go through the Cherokee lands. These records also mention claims filed 1816 to 1833 and include the names of Army officers at posts; unauthorized settlements on Indian lands; land office records; and names of traders, settlers, missionaries, chiefs, and members of the tribe. See the introduction at the beginning of the first film to learn about the contents of these records. Many individuals are listed, however there is no index.
• United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Letters Received, 1824–1881; Registers of Letters Received, 1824–1880. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0018, M0234. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1942, 1956. FS Library film 1638620 (first of 1088 films) There are letters in this collection pertaining to each of the major tribes, but they are not indexed.

Chickasaw

For a history of the Chickasaw nation, see:

• Malone, James H. The Chickasaw Nation: A Short Sketch of A Noble People. Louisville, Kentucky: John P. Morton, 1922. FS Library book 970.3 C432m A map at the end of the book shows the Mississippi and Alabama lands ceded by the Chickasaws in 1835.

Choctaw

A 1831 list of Choctaws in Alabama and Mississippi is in:

• American State Papers: FS Library film 1631827 (first of 32 films); fiche 6051323, Legislative and Executive of the Congress of the United States cited under the subheading France (1710–1763) in Alabama Land and Property. Volume Seven, on FS Library film 944499 item 2, pages 1–140, has the 1831 Armstrong roll of Choctaws owning farms who were entitled to receive land under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830. The volume is indexed. These records are like a census, listing head of family, the number of males over 16, number of males and females under 10, number of acres, and location.

Creek

Some published sources with information about the Creek People are:

• Snider, Billie Ford. Full Name Indexes, Eastern Creek Indians East of the Mississippi. Pensacola, Florida: Antique Compiling, 1993. FS Library fiche 6126087; book 970.3 C861sb This source lists ancestors of the Eastern Creeks living in 1814 and descendants to about 1972. The final chapter contains a detailed history of the Creeks from the 1600s to 1973 and offers suggestions for Eastern Creek Indian ancestral research.
• Stiggins, George. Creek Indian History: A Historical Narrative of the Genealogy, Traditions and Downfall of the Ispocoga or Creek Indian Tribe of Indians. Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Public Library Press, 1989. FS Library book 970.3 C861s A bibliography is found on pages 166–70.
• Eggleston, George Cary. Red Eagle and the Wars with the Creek Indians. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company Publishers, 1878. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library - free.

Rolls were prepared in 1832 of the Lower Creeks and the Upper Creeks. They contain the names of principal chiefs and heads of households, where they resided, number of people in the household and whether they owned slaves:

• Abbott, Thomas J. Creek Census of 1832 (Lower Creeks). Laguna Hills, California: Histree, 1987. FS Library book 970.3 C861a This is indexed by name.
• Parsons, Benjamin S. Creek Census of 1832 (Upper Creeks). Laguna Hills, California: Histree, 1987. FS Library book 970.3 C861pa This is indexed by name.

Agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• Vital records

The following list of agencies that have operated or now exist in Washington has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians, and others.

• Choctaw Agency, 421 Powell, Philadelphia, MS, 39350

Some Important Historical Events

Most American Indians in Alabama were forced to go to the Indian Territory (now a part of Oklahoma) in the 1830s. A few remained in Alabama.

General histories with information about the events involving the American Indians in Alabama are:

• Pickett, Albert James. History of Alabama and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, From the Earliest Period. Sheffield, Alabama: R.C. Randolph, 1896. FS Library film 924406; book 976.1 H2p This book gives a chronological history of the events affecting the American Indians to about 1820.
• Young, Mary Elizabeth. Redskins, Ruffle shirts and Rednecks: Indian Allotments in Alabama and Mississippi 1830–1860. The Civilization of the American Indian Series. Norman. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961. FS Library book 970.1 Y86r This book describes the opening up and sale of Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek Indian lands until about the 1840s. An excellent bibliography is found at the end of the book.

Reservations

From the mid-1800s, the official policy of the United States government toward the American Indian was to confine each tribe to a specific parcel of land called a reservation. Agencies were established on or near each reservation. A government representative, usually called an agent (or superintendent) was assigned to each agency. Their duties included maintaining the peace, making payments to the Native Americans based on the stipulations of the treaties with each tribe, and providing a means of communication between the native population and the federal government.

Sometimes, a single agency had jurisdiction over more than one reservation. And sometimes, if the tribal population and land area required it, an agency may have included sub-agencies.

The boundaries of reservations, over time, have changed. Usually, that means the reservations have been reduced in size. Sometimes, especially during the later policy of "termination," the official status of reservations was ended altogether.

The following list of reservations has been compiled from the National Atlas of the United States of America, the Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America, and other sources. Those reservations named in bold are current federally-recognized reservations, with their associated agency and tribe(s). Others have historically been associated with the state or are not currently recognized by the federal government.

Creek Reservation

Poarch Band of Creek - State, under jurisdiction of Choctaw Agency Tribe: Poarch Band of Creek

Map - Alabama- Indian Reservations- Federal Lands and Indian Reservations. by the U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Geological Survey.

References

Redskins Ruffle shirts and Rednecks-Indian Allotments in Alabama and Mississippi 1830-1860. by Mary Elizabeth Young. C. 1961 University of Oklahoma Pres. Norman, Oklahoma. Library of Congress number: 61-15150. FS Library book970.1 Y86r

This book contains maps showing: Location of Creek allotments and original counties of the Creek Cession Land Offerings.

See also

Alabama Military for a list of forts.

Alabama History (calendar) for information on land ceded by the Indians.

FamilySearch Catalog Alabama Native Races

Bibliography of Published Books and Articles

• The book Alabama History: An Annotated Bibliography by Lynda W. Brown mentioned in Alabama History contains sections on the American Indian tribes of Alabama

Research Facilities

FamilySearch Library

The FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City has a large collection of American Indian sources, including:

• Copies of many of the microfilmed records of the National Archives.
• Copies of some records of agencies and other offices, obtained through their own records preservation program.
• A book collection of histories, biographies, guides, etc. for American Indian research.

To determine the full extent of their holdings, search their catalog, using their Keyword Search, Place Search, and Subject Search, looking for names of tribes and offices. Also, many of their holdings are under the Subject Search for:

NATIVE RACES

CHEROKEE INDIANS

CHICKASAW INDIANS

CHOCTAW INDIANS

CREEK INDIANS

Records of American Indians can also be found in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

ALABAMA — NATIVE RACES

National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is responsible for the preservation of the records of historical importance created by federal offices in the United States of America, including those of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessor, the Office of Indian Affairs. (Read more...)

Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

Many of the Regional Archives have collected records of the federal offices in their region, including those of the field jurisdictions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Some of the field jurisdictions are the superintendencies, agencies, schools, factories and area offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Pacific Alaska Regional Archives (NARA) in Seattle has jurisdiction for the preservation of the records of federal offices in Idaho, including those of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(Read more...)

References

Bibliography

• "Accompanying Pamphlet for Microcopy 1011", National Archives Microfilm Publications, Appendix.
• American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998.
• Gilbert, William Harlen, Jr. Surviving Indian Groups in the Eastern United States. Pp. 407-438 of the Smithsonian Report for 1948. Available online.
• 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.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington D.C.:Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #30 1907. Available online.
• Isaacs. Katherine M., editor. Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America. U.S. Data Sourcebook, Volume 11 Appendices, Bureau of Indian Affairs List of American Indian Reservations, Appendix E, Indian Reservations. Omnigraphics, Inc., 1991
• National Atlas of the United States of America -- Federal Lands and Indian Reservations Available online.
• Preliminary Inventory No. 163: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Services. Available online
• Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online. (ISBN 0-8063-1730-2 L of C 2002117802)
• Tiller, Veronica E. Velarde., American Indian Reservations and Trust Areas. C. 1996, Tiller Research Incorporated. FamilySearch Library book 970.1 T463a No ISBN, or LC #

National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.