NATIVE AMERICAN RECORDS

1884 Map of Cherokee Nation. Territory Assigned to the Cherokee Nation by the Colonies of the USA West of the Mississippi River

• Map

History

When the Cherokee Indians left North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, certain claims arising under treaty stipulations with the Cherokee tribe were brought against the USA under the Treaty of New Echolta (May 23, 1836) and the Treaty of Washington (August 6, 1846), viz: The Cherokee Nation v. The United States (general jurisdiction case 23199), The Eastern and Emigrant Cherokees v. The United States (general jurisdiction case 23212), and The Eastern Cherokees v. The United States (general jurisdiction case 23214). The court ruled in favor of the Eastern Cherokees, May 18, 1905, and directed the Secretary of the Interior to identify those persons eligible to share a special Congressional claims compensation appropriation of June 30, 1906. Guion Miller, first as a special agent of the Department of the Interior, and after April 29, 1907, as a special commissioner of the Court of Claims, compiled a roll of eligible persons, which he submitted with a report to the court on May 28, 1909. Miller submitted a supplemental roll and report, January 5, 1910, containing additional names. The rolls were approved by the court and payment authorized, March 15, 1910. In compiling his lists, Miller utilized earlier rolls, including those prepared by Interior Department special agents Alfred Chapman, Eastern Cherokees, 1851; John Drennan, Western Cherokees, 1851; and Joseph G. Hester, Eastern Cherokees, 1884.

Case Files 1906-1911

Eastern Cherokee applications spanned from 1906 to 1909 and included Receipts for Treasury warrants (1909-1911); Guion Miller reports, 1909 and 1920. Roll of Eastern Cherokee (Miller), 1909. Supplemental roll (Miller), 1910. Hester roll, 1884, with index. Chapman and Drennan rolls, 1851, with consolidated index. Old Settler (Western Cherokee) roll, 1851. Index to census enrollment of Eastern Cherokees (Eastern Cherokee Roll), 1835.

US Court of Claims 1906-1910

• US Court of Claims 1906 to 1909
• 1909
• 1910

Cherokee Applications Note: There were over 3,000 applications. The following data includes number 1 to 45 (only).

Index A-C

Index D-G

Index H-K

Index L-N

Index O-R

Index S-Z

Applications 1-5

Applications 6-10

Applications 11-17

Applications 18-25

Applications 26-32

Applications 33-40

Applications 41-45

The Dawes Rolls

Lists of people accepted between 1898 and 1914 by the Dawes Commission as members of these five Indian tribes: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole. The Dawes Rolls, also known as the Final Rolls, are the lists of individuals who were accepted as eligible for tribal membership in the Civilized Tribes, viz: Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles. (It does not include those whose applications were stricken, rejected or judged as doubtful.) Those found eligible for the Final Rolls were entitled to an allotment of land, usually as a homestead. The Rolls contain more than 101,000 names from 1898-1914 (primarily from 1899-1906). They can be searched to discover the enrollee's name, sex, blood degree, and census card number. The census card may provide additional genealogical information, and may also contain references to earlier rolls, such as the 1880 Cherokee census. A census card was generally accompanied by an "application jacket". The jackets then sometimes contain valuable supporting documentation, such as birth and death affidavits, marriage licenses, and correspondence. Today these five tribes continue to use the Dawes Rolls as the basis for determining tribal membership. They usually require applicants to provide proof of descent from a person who is listed on these rolls. Contact the tribes directly for enrollment information.