Black - Indian History Information - Freedmen Family History Resources (by tribe)

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Five Civilized Tribes

The Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes (National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy T529). Arranged by tribe, Indians by blood, freedmen, minor and newborn (both Indian and freedman), the rolls list roll number, age, sex, blood quantum, position in the family, and census card number. Index and Final Rolls also appears as the first roll of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy M1186.

Enrollment Cards for the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 (National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy M1186). The enrollment cards for those admitted to the tribal rolls provide much valuable information: name of each family member, age, family relationship, sex, tribal enrollment of parents, owners' names of former slaves, names of parents, parents' owners if they were slaves, other rolls on which their names appear, aliases or changes in names. There are also cards for rejected applicants that yield the same kinds of information.

Index to Enrollment Cards. 1899-1907. 24 vols. (National Archives-Southwest Region). The index is arranged by tribe, then category (by blood, freedmen, etc.), and lists name, card number, and, at times, roll number. Two volumes of indexes of "doubtful" and "rejected" applicants appear as Film 7RA24 and 7RA147.

Application Jackets for the Five Civilized Tribes (National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy M1301). Information varies but often includes evidence submitted to support applications, affidavits, marriage and other records, and transcripts of testimony. Some jackets contain hundreds of pages of information, others very little. There are also jackets for those applications labeled "Doubtful."

Record of Applications under the Act of 1896. 1896-1897. 5 vols. (National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy M1650) Applicants are arranged by tribe and listed by application number. Each volume contains an index. This is the quickest way to get at the content of applications, below.

Applications for Enrollment under the Act of 1896. 1896-1897. (National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy M1650) Arranged by tribe and then application number, these records contain not only court proceedings but much useful information in affidavits, dpositions, and family records.

Office of the Secretary of the Interior. Indian Territory Division. Special Files. Chickasaw Freedmen (National Archives). This extensive file is mislabeled. It contains huge quantities of information about the freedmen of various tribes and includes correspondence, affidavits, and testimony that contain much personal and family information.

Records of the Dawes Commission (Oklahoma Historical Society, Film DC 1-80). This extensive file of records of the Dawes Commission contains much information about freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes.

Indian-Pioneer History (Oklahoma Historical Society). These 106 volumes contain the bound transcripts of WPA interviews with Oklahoma residents in the late 1930s. Included are many freedman family histories and biographies. The Historical Society maintains a card index to the content of the volumes.

The Frontier Freedman's Journal: An African American Genealogical & Historical Journal of the South, Indian Territory, and the Southwest. The Premiere Issue (Spring 1992). This quarterly contains information on family history, census records, and genealogical resources.

49th Congress, 2nd Session, Senate Report 1278 [Conditions of the Indians and Freedmen in the Indian Territory]

59th Congress, 2nd Session, Senate Report 5013 [Report of the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Affairs in the Indian Territory, November 11, 1907-January 9, 1908]