Fort Belknap Indian Agency (Montana): Difference between revisions

The Fort Belknap Indian Agency is the administrative office of the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs|Bureau of Indian Affairs]] on the [[Fort Belknap Indian Reservation (Montana)|Fort Belknap Reservation]] in north-central Montana. Its supervising office is the [[Area Offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs|Billings Area Office]].  

The Fort Belknap Agency was established in 1873. The Grosventre and Assiniboin Indians living on the Milk River in Montana were assigned to the agency. For two years, 1876-1878, the Fort Belknap and the [[Fort Peck Indian Agency (Montana)|Fort Peck Agency]] were joined. In 1878, Fort Belknap was reestablished as a separate agency<ref>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, pp. 158-159.</ref>.  

Many of the historical [http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/075.html#75.19.30 records of this agency] are housed in the [http://www.archives.gov/rocky-mountain/index.html Rocky Mountain Regional Archives] of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Denver, Colorado<ref>Guide to Federal Records, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75. [http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/075.html Available online].</ref>. Records in that collection which may be of assistance to the genealogist include:  

Microfilm copies of [[Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports (BIA), 1907-1938|''...Narrative and Statistical Reports...'']] for the Fort Belknap Agency, 1907-1935, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, Rolls 45-46<ref>''American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications''. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998, Microcopy M1011, p. 27.</ref>, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, beginning with their [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlefilmnotes&columns=*%2C0%2C0&titleno=479404&disp=Superintendents+annual+narrative+and+sta++ microfilm numbers 1724263-1724264]. Reports for some years are missing.<br>  

Annual [[American Indian Census Rolls|''Indian Census Rolls'']] were taken at this agency for 1885-1911 and from 1913 thru 1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the [http://www.archives.gov/ National Archives] as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 126 thru 131<ref>''American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications''. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998, Microcopy M595, p. 51.</ref>. 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 [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlefilmnotes&titleno=297519&disp=Indian%2Bcensus%2Brolls%252C%2B1885%252D1940%2B%2B&first=101&last=200&columns=*,0,0 microfilm numbers 576481-576486]). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.<br>  

<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.