Indigenous Peoples of the United States Reservations

United States American Indians  Reservations

Background
A reservation is a land area governed by an American Indian tribe rather than by a state or the United States federal government. Reservations were set aside by the United States or individual states (such as New York) for use as American Indian homelands. Some reservations are for one tribe or band, and some reservations are shared by two or more tribes. There are 310 reservations in the United States and about 550 recognized tribes, so not every tribe has a reservation. A few tribes, bands, or clans live on more than one reservation. The largest is the Navajo Nation Reservation consisting of a significant portion of several large counties in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Some reservations are on tiny pieces of land not much more than a few acres surrounded by large urban areas, for example, the Las Vegas Reservation in Las Vegas, Nevada. Reservations are distributed unevenly in the United States with the bulk of them in the mountain-west states. Reservation lands make up 2.3 percent of the total land area of the United States.

Less than half now live on reservations. In 2012 only about 1 million of the approximately 2.5 million American Indians lived on reservations. Nevertheless, many genealogical researchers who have American Indian ancestors know of a reservation where such an ancestor once lived.

Research
Finding records. Usually, it is best to first look for records of American Indian ancestors in regular non-Indian-types of records such as births, marriages, deaths, church records, cemeteries, censuses, and military records. After searching regular records of the general population where an ancestor lived, a researcher is better prepared to turn to more specialized American Indian sources.

If you know the reservation where an ancestor lived, use that information to determine the Bureau of Indian Affairs agency, and the tribe associated with that reservation. The majority American Indian-specific records which can be used for genealogical research were created by an Indian ancestor's BIA agency. Use the reservation, tribe, and BIA agency information to help identify which agency records to research. Many BIA agency records also are available from the National Archives, its branches, or from the Family History Library.

Evolution of BIA agencies. The BIA agencies responsible for the various reservations changed over time. To learn more about the evolving organization of BIA agencies, and their connection with tribes, BIA superintendencies, and American Indian records see:


 * Edward E. Hill, Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880: Historical Sketches (New York: Clearwater Publ., 1974). ;.

Wiki List of Reservations
For an alphabetical list of those reservations in the United States which are described in this Wiki, see the Category:American Indian Reservations.

Key to the Reservations Map
These key numbers correspond with the numbers on the map of reservations below. For example, this key shows the #32 reservation on the map (in South Carolina) is the "Catawba" Reservation.

Reservations Map
To enlarge this map, click on it, pause, and then click on it again.