Quapaw Indian Agency

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The Quapaw Indian Agency was a territory that included parts of the present day Oklahoma Counties of Ottawa and Delaware. Established in the late 1830s as part of the Cherokee Nation, the agency was disbanded in 1890 by the Oklahoma Organic Act and attached to an Indian Territory. Another Indian reserve, the Miami Indian Agency based in Miami, Oklahoma was disbanded at the same time. The area that became known as the Quapaw Agency Lands contained 220,000 acres and was located in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma where that state adjoins Missouri and Kansas. This area was settled prior to 1874 by 24 Indian groups. These range from full Indian tribes down to the remnants of several larger Indian groups whose main body settled elsewhere.

History

Among the tribes who settled peacefully in these lands were people of the Algonquin and the Iroquois tribes who, in the time of Samuel de Champlain, were great enemies. Here also, plowing and harvesting their fields together and sharing each other's native ceremonials, was a tribe of the mighty Sioun nation, as well as one of the Lupuamian nation. Within the memories of their grandfathers, these old and powerful tribes had owned many hundreds of thousands of acres in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Oregon.

Since early territorial days of 1867 an agency had existed to the benefit of these Indians. This was in order that members of these tribes could be in contact with the agent of the federal government. But not all of the business handled by the agent was tribal business. The Indian Agent often found himself being the mediator in settling neighborhood and family disputes, as well.

Because the land was originally given to the Quapaw Tribe, it became known as The Quapaw Agency Lands. Prior to this, it and other nearby areas had been known as The Neosho Indian Agency, The Shawnee Indian Agency and the Seneca Indian Agency. It was originally located four miles west of Seneca, Missouri, and later moved to Wyandotte in the Indian Territory. In 1920, two agencies were established; the Seneca and Quapaw. In 1922 they were combined and became the Quapaw Agency.

Due to the close proximity of their reservations, there were many intermarriages between the tribes and several of the tribes eventually merged. Therefore, some of the individually listings will lead the researcher to the tribal name they are known by today.

Primary Tribes

The Primary tribes of the Quapaw Indian Agency were: [1]

Other Resources

Daniel B. Dyer Collection

John D. Miles, a Quaker, was employed as the Indian Agent from 1872 to 1884. Daniel B. Dyer was employed as Indian agent at the Quapaw Indian Agency from 1881 to 1884. [note this dates appear to different from the newspaper accounts1] The Daniel B. Dyer Collection located at The University of Kansas Libraries, Kenneth Spencer Research Library includes photographs of Quapaw and Osage Indians and the Quapaw and Modoc Methodist Mission. The collection also contains picture post cards of scenes in Oklahoma and Indian portraits from 1889 to 1908. A part of the peace policy of President Grant was to assign Quakers as Indian Agents.

National Archives Southwest Region

Many records of the Quapaw Agency are in the National Archives Southwest Region (Ft. Worth)[3], including:

Census records—Eastern Shawnee, 1882–1940 Miami, 1888–1940 Modoc, 1885–1890 Nez Perce, n.d. Ottawa, 1883–1888 Peoria, 1883–1959 Quapaw, 1885–1933, with updates to 1955 Seneca, 1877–1940 Wyandot, 1871–1956 Death rolls, 1931–1935 Birth rolls, 1931–1935 Miami applications and rejected applications, 1972–1973 Land and property records, 1873–1959 School records, 1882–1940 And many other administrative files and correspondence

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Quapaw Agency, 1871–1880, have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M234, Rolls 703-713[4]. Copies are available at the National Archives and at the Family History Library and its family history centers on their microfilm roll numbers 1661433 thru 1661443.

Reports of Inspection of the Field Jurisdictions of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1873-1900 have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of Microcopy Number M1070. The reports for Quapaw Agency, 1874–1898, are on rolls 41-42 of that Microcopy set[5]. Copies are available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their microfilm roll numbers 1617714-1617715).

Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Quapaw Agency, 1921–1938, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, Rolls 111-112[6], available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, beginning with their microfilm numbers 1724329-1724330.

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1885–1900 and 1922 thru 1939. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 411-416[7]. 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 roll numbers 581405-581410). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.

Quapaw Agency Records 1872-1948 (school, census, vital, allotment, and annuity) FHL Collection, film: 1204600 first film of a collection.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Quapaw Agency Lands Of Indian Territory, Hosted by Ancestry.com". Retrieved 2012-02-10. 

Coordinates: 36°36′N 94°48′W / 36.6°N 94.8°W / 36.6; -94.8

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