UNITED STATES. OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS:

Subjects covered include the fur trade; Indian conflicts, treaties, boundaries, lands, reservations, annuities, missions, education and schools, health, depredations, and claims; and other aspects of Indian affairs. Correspondents include commissioners and superintendents of Indian affairs, Indian agents and sub-agents, secretaries of war and interior, fur traders, missionaries, teachers, and territorial and state government officials.

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The intellectual arrangement of the paper records in each section does not correspond to their physical arrangement in the boxes, as indicated in the Detailed Description of the Collection.

These papers are organized into the following five sections:

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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. Selected records of the Office of Indian Affairs. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

Microfilm. Washington, DC : National Archives, 1938.

Many items in the collection were selected from The Mereness Calendar: Federal Documents on the Upper Mississippi Valley, 1780-1890.

The microfilm is available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Location of Originals:

Originals: National Archives (Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs)

Provenance:

This collection is an artificial compilation assembled by several individuals in numerous acquisitions over many years. This process contributed to the inconsistent placement of documents within the collection’s arrangement scheme, whose sections generally correspond to Office of Indian Affairs record series, as has the apparent movement of some items from their original filing locations by individuals other than the compilers. As a result, the current location of some materials may not be consistent with the section titles and descriptions given in the Detailed Description of the Collection portion of the inventory.

Some of the typed transcriptions of handwritten photographic reproductions are filed with the items they transcribe, while others are filed separately. Some of the transcribed photocopies may no longer be present in the collection.

Many items in the collection were selected from those contained in The Mereness calendar: Federal documents on the Upper Mississippi Valley, 1780-1890.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 2038, 2052A, 2359A, 2394, 2862, 2906, 3037, 3164, 3222, 3498, 4033, 4137, 4424, 4470, 4663, 4802.

Processing Information:

Processed by: Deborah Kahn, April 2008.

Catalog ID number: 990066031230104294

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Correspondence and related materials received by the Office of Indian Affairs and by superintendents, agents, and sub-agents whose records were sent to the Office of Indian Affairs when their offices were discontinued.

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Copies of the general outgoing correspondence of the Office of Indian Affairs to superintendents, agents, and sub-agents; government officials; and others involved in Indian affairs.

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Copies of communications sent by the Office of Indian Affairs to members of the President’s cabinet having supervisory responsibility for Indian affairs, primarily the secretary of war or the secretary of the interior; to members of Congress; and to other government officials.

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Correspondence of the superintendent and agents whose records were sent to the Office of Indian Affairs when their offices were discontinued.

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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.

Fur trade.

Indians of North America -- Michigan.

Indians of North America -- Minnesota.

Indians of North America -- Wisconsin.

Ojibwa Indians.

Winnebago Indians.

Persons:

Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850, author.

Cass, Lewis, 1782-1866, author.

Clark, William, 1770-1838, author.

Crooks, Ramsay, 1787-1859, author.

Ramsey, Alexander, 1815-1903, author.

Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793-1864, author.

Taliaferro, Lawrence, 1794-1871, author.

Organizations:

United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Michigan Superintendency.

United States. Office of Indian Affairs. St. Louis Superintendency.

Document Types:

Microforms.

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