Dawes Roll, 1898
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Control Number NRFF-75-53A
Media Textual records
Descr. Level Series
Record Group 75
Series 53A
Title Applications for Enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes
Title Added Entry Dawes Rolls
Dates 1898-1914
Creating Org. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes.
Record Type/Genre correspondence; decisions; licenses; orders (legal term); testimonies; transcripts; affidavits
Scope & Content Commonly called the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, the Dawes Commission was appointed by President Grover Cleveland in 1893 to negotiate with the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole tribes. In return for abolishing their tribal governments and recognizing state and federal laws, tribe members were allotted a share of common property.

Heads of families, orphans, and children could receive 40 to 160 acres of land by proving their tribal membership. This series contains the original applications for tribal enrollments under the act of June 28, 1898, as well as supporting documents such as birth and death affidavits, marriage licenses, transcripts of testimony taken by the Commission, correspondence relating to the status of the application, and decisions and orders of the Commission.
Arrangement Arranged by tribe, thereunder by enrollment category, thereunder by type (Straight, Doubtful, or Rejected), and thereunder numerically by enrollment ("census") card number.
Finding Aids Item level descriptions for 22,600 Cherokee, 30,000 Creek, 5,900 Seminole, and 3,500 Chickasaw applications are available online. The descriptions can provide the name, tribe, age, sex, and degree of indian blood of the applicant, as well as the type of enrollment, the census card number, roll number, and city of residence. In NAIL, search for the name of the applicant and, if necessary, limit your search by the tribe, by Record Group "75" and/or the Description Type "Item."
See Also Record Group Description
How to order copies of a Dawes case file
Subject Ref. West (U.S.); Indians of North America; Land settlement; United States--Territorial expansion
Geographic Ref. West (U.S.)
Access Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions None.
Linear Measure 525 ft.
Contact NARA's Southwest Region (Fort Worth, TX) (NRFF), Building 1, Dock 1, 501 West Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115 PHONE: 817-334-5525 FAX: 817-334-5621