UNITED STATES. OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS:

Under an act of Congress of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1038), members of the Sisseton, Wahpeton, Mdewakanton, and Wahpekute bands of Dakota Indians who served as U.S. scouts or soldiers during the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War or the Civil War were eligible to receive annuity payments. If the scout or soldier was deceased, his heirs were eligible to receive the payments.

During July and August, 1891, Special Agent Samuel H. Elrod of the Office of Indian Affairs advertised in several newspapers, notifying the members of these bands that he would be enrolling eligible Indians to receive these payments. His list was completed in February 1892, and sent to the Office of Indian Affairs.

The above information was taken from the list itself and from a description of the list on page 261 of the Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, compiled by Edward E. Hill (Washington, D.C., 1965).

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The official title of this list is: "List of names of members of the Sisseton, Wahpeton, Meda-Wakanton, and Wapakoota Sioux Indians who were enrolled and entered into the military service of the United States and served in suppressing the Sioux outbreak of 1862, or who served in the United States Army in the war of the rebellion and the members of the families and descendants of such of said scouts and soldiers who were not parties to the agreement ratified March 3, 1891...."

The list is arranged by roll number assigned to the scout or soldier, but it includes an alphabetical name index. After the name of each deceased scout or soldier are the names of his heirs and their relationship to him.

At the beginning of the list are affidavits of publication from the St. Paul, Minnesota Daily and Sunday Pioneer Press; the Devil's Lake, North Dakota Inter Ocean; and the Niobrara, Nebraska Pioneer. The affidavits certify that the newspapers had published a "Notice to Scouts, Soldiers, and their Descendants." Attached to each affidavit is a clipping of the notice.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. United States. Office of Indian Affairs. List of Sioux scouts & soldiers /. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

Washington, D.C. : National Archives, 1970. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.

Microfilm copy made from a negative loaned by Mrs. Lois J. Brewer, Shakopee, Minn.

Location of Originals:

Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. National Archives ; Washington, D.C.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 11,247

Processing Information:

Processed by: John Wickre, November 1970

Catalog ID number: 990017332590104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Dakota Indians -- Annuities.

Dakota Indians -- Genealogy.

Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865 -- Scouts and scouting.

Dakota War, Minnesota, 1862.

Mdewakanton Indians.

Scouting (Reconnaissance)

Sisseton Indians.

Wahpekute Indians.

Wahpeton Indians.

Organizations:

Elrod, Samuel H.

United States. Army -- Indians.

Places:

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Scouts and scouting.

Document Types:

Microforms.

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