People of Allen County, Indiana

Genealogy Center Indian Resources

Genealogy Center Resources

November 13, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

November is #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth! Dive into The Genealogy Center's wealth of materials for those exploring the history and culture of Native American and First Nations communities. With tens of thousands of print resources and essential online references at your fingertips, the Genealogy Center has got you covered!

To kickstart your journey, explore our 'Native American Gateway' to discover these invaluable materials and their helpful guides. 📚🔍

Explore more at: Native American Gateway"

November 24, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

November is #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth! Have you had a chance to explore our Native American Gateway? This free database is a resource for those exploring First Nations family history. Information on how to begin such research, links to materials from the National Archives and links to popular data are complemented by a continually updated listing of resources held by The Genealogy Center.

Discover the database at this link: https://www.genealogycenter.info/nativeamerican/ 🌟📚 #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #FamilyHistory #TheGenealogyCenter

November 17, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

Are you familiar with our quick search guides? These convenient compilations offer lists of selected research guides and record indexes, aiding your research in a variety of subjects. We also provide quick search guides for U.S. States and numerous international regions. In honor of #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth this November, we're highlighting our Native American/First Nations guide.

To explore these resources, visit our website and navigate to the 'Genealogy Services' section: https://www.genealogy.acpl.lib.in.us/ 📚🔍

Beginning Native American October 10, 2019 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook.

1:23:42 long video Native American/First Nations Research Published on November 1, 2018 by the Allen County Public Library on YouTube.
Presented by the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library. This presentation provides an overview for the person beginning Native American genealogical research. Emphasis is placed on paying close attention to historical details, the major differences between Euro-American and Native American societies, and conducting research within the proper historical and geographic contexts. Major records groups are defined with an extensive bibliography provided.

  1. Native American Gateway web site of the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana
  2. Native American Gateway discusses the web site by Dawne published March 14, 2012 on the Genealogy Center Blog from The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
  3. Records of the Miami Indians of Indiana on The Genealogy Center website.
  4. Allen County Public Library Native and African American Online Resources by Roberta Estes published October 10, 2014 on her blog Native Heritage Project.
  5. Indian Census of the United States - 1885-1940
    1. Indian Census of the United States - 1885-1940 is almost 700 digitized census items. The Description states: This microfilm was provided by the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and sponsored by the Internet Archive.
    2. Censuses of American Indians at United States Census Bureau. The first couple paragraphs state: Despite being the original inhabitants of the land that is today the United States, American Indians and Alaska Natives have not always found themselves represented in the decennial census. Article 1 Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution originally excluded “Indians not taxed” from enumeration in the census. Accordingly, in the first census of 1790, most Indians fell under the status of “Indian not taxed” and were not counted by the census—the reason being that they lived apart from European and African inhabitants, usually under some sort of separate sovereignty recognized by a treaty, and did not vote or perform other duties related to citizenship.
      As the new country expanded west and encountered more Indian tribes, interest grew in counting their populations. For the 1850 Census, the Superintendent of the Census asked the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to provide a count of the various tribes and populations under his supervision. In 1860, a provision for counting Indians in the race/color category first appeared for Indians who had renounced tribal affiliation and lived with settler communities or in large eastern cities.
    3. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 Updated 9 October 2014 at The National Archives from American Indians in Census Records. The Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595) are indexed and available online at Ancestry.com and Fold3.com. Prior to digitization, these records were only available via microfilm publication M595. Use the online Microfilm Catalog to learn which NARA units have copies of this microfilm publication. Visit the National Archives Catalog for the full archival records description: National Archives Identifier 595276.
      The Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 ( M595, 692 rolls) contains census rolls that were usually submitted each year by agents or superintendents in charge of Indian reservations, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as required by an act of July 4, 1884 (23 Stat. 98). The data on the rolls vary, but usually given are the English and/or Indian name of the person, roll number, age or date of birth, sex, and relationship to head of family.
      Beginning in 1930, the rolls also include the degree of Indian blood, marital status, ward status, place of residence, and sometimes other information. For certain years--1935, 1936, 1938, and 1939--only supplemental rolls of additions and deletions were compiled. Most of the 1940 rolls have been retained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and are not included in this publication.
      There is not a census for every reservation or group of American Indians for every year. Only persons who maintained a formal affiliation with a tribe under federal supervision are listed on these census rolls.
    4. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 Records: 424,217 at Fold3 - NARA M595. Most rolls include the English and/or Indian name of the person, roll number, age or date of birth, sex, and relationship to head of family. Beginning in 1930 the rolls also show the degree of Indian blood, marital status, ward status, place of residence, and sometimes other information. Only persons who maintained a formal affiliation with a tribe under Federal supervision are listed on these census rolls. There is not a census for every reservation or group of Indians for every year..
    5. United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940 at FamilySearch.org Native American census rolls for various tribes. Original records are NARA Series M595. This NARA series also includes some vital records.Cite This Collection. "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940." Database. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org : 4 November 2022. Citing NARA microfilm publication M595. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1967.
  6. American Indian Histories and Cultures database contains an extremely wide range of materials providing a good historical perspective and a unique look into the interactions between American Indians and Europeans from their earliest contact right up to the civil rights movement of the 1900s. This resource contains material from the Newberry Library’s extensive Edward E. Ayer Collection, one of the strongest archival collections on American Indian history in the world. It is a major asset for the Genealogy Center to have access to materials from this widely acclaimed Newberry Library collection. Indeed, the Ayer Collection as it is called, containing 130,000 volumes, over one million manuscript pages, 2,000 maps, 500 atlases, 11,000 photographs, and 3,500 drawings and paintings. Copied from the monthly ezine Genealogy Gems: News from the Allen County Public Library at Fort Wayne, No. 188, October 31, 2019. Copies online at Genealogy Gems.
  7. American Indian Newspapers database allows one to explore nearly two centuries of Indigenous print journalism from the U.S. and Canada. This collection has quite the variety of newspaper and journal publications covering information reported by and for Indigenous communities. More than 170,000 pages of newspapers are searchable through this resource. As with the previous collection, these images and associated database draw heavily from the collections of the Newberry Library. Copied from the monthly ezine Genealogy Gems: News from the Allen County Public Library at Fort Wayne, No. 188, October 31, 2019. Copies online at Genealogy Gems.
  8. A lendable short book Scott's Wabash Expedition, 1791 by Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County; Scott, Charles, 1739-1813 Publication date 1953 Topics Scott, Charles, 1739-1813, Indians of North America on Archive.organd also viewable online at Project Gutenberg in several formats and as HTML.
  9. Indians of North America at Archive.org has over 26,500 digitized publications.
  10. Internet Archive ACPL Digitization Center Native American Collection This is a collection of Native American related material that was originally part of a the collection of Earl Ford McNaughton of Fremont Indiana. It contains wide ranging subjects on Native Americans, both fiction and non-fiction. at Archive.org.

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