View source for Arkansas Indian Agency (Arkansas)

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| link1=[[United States Genealogy|United States]]
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| link3=[[Arkansas Genealogy|Arkansas]]
| link4=[[Indians of Arkansas|Indians of Arkansas]]
| link5=[[Arkansas Indian Agency (Arkansas)|Arkansas Indian Agency (Arkansas)]]
}}


=== Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency  ===

[[Cherokee Indians|Cherokee]], [[Choctaw Indians|Choctaw]], [[Caddo Indians|Caddo]], [[Quapaw Indians|Quapaw]], and others. 

=== History  ===

In 1802, the Factor at the Government Trading Post (Factor) on the Arkansas River in Arkansas was appointed temporary agent for all the Indians "at Arkansas." He was placed under the supervision of the Cherokee agent in Tennessee. In 1817, an assistant agent for Indians in Arkansas was appointed, to report to the Governor of Missouri Territory. That position was made a full agent in 1818. By 1823, the Arkansas Agency was restricted to the supervision of only the Cherokee Indians in Arkansas. By 1834, most of the Indians had been removed from Arkansas and were being supervised by agencies for specific tribes, and the Arkansas Agency had been abolished or absorbed into those newer agencies.<ref>Hill, Edward E. ''The Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880: Historical Sketches''. New York, New York: Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc., 1974, pp. 15-16.</ref> 

=== Records  ===

Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. '''Many of the records of genealogical value (for the tribe and tribal members) were created by and maintained by these offices'''.

Most of the correspondence and records of this early agency are filed under "[[Cherokee Indian Agency (Arkansas)|Cherokee West]]" in the records of the Office of Indian Affairs, or under the agencies specific to the Cherokee, Choctaw, Quapaw, and other tribes. 

=== References  ===

<references /> 

*''American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications''. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998.<br> 
*Hill, Edward E. (comp.). ''Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians''. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981.<br> 
*Hill, Edward E. ''The Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880: Historical Sketches''. New York, New York: Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc., 1974. 
*''Historical Sketches for Jurisdictional and Subject Headings Used for the Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880''. National Archives Microcopy T1105. 
*''Preliminary Inventory No. 163: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs''. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Services. [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~texlance/records/bia(dc)intro.htm Available online]

[[Category:American_Indian_Agencies]]