Raccoon River Indian Agency (Iowa)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Sauk and Fox

History
The Raccoon River Agency is another name for the Sac and Fox Agency. In 1843, the Sac and Fox Agency was moved from its location west of Fairfield, Iowa, to a location on the Des Moines River near the mouth of Raccoon River, at the site of the present city of Des Moines, Iowa. When the Indians moved again in 1845 to the Osage River, west of the Missouri River, in present-day Kansas, it was then called the Osage River Agency.

Agents and Appointment Dates
Joseph M. Street, John Beach 1840

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 the agencies.

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Raccoon River Agency, 1843-1845, have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M234, Roll 714. Copies are available at the National Archives and at the Family History Library and its family history centers on their.