U.S. Indian Census Schedules, 1885-1940
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Since
1790, federal census enumerators came around to count the population
only every ten years. If you have Indian ancestry, and if your family
stayed connected to a tribe that was under U.S. government supervision,
there may be more census records to check for your family. Indians were
not always listed on regular federal censuses, even when the
instructions said otherwise. Contrast that to the annual (well, almost
annual) censuses of Indians with a connection to a specific Department
of Indian Affairs (DIA) jurisdiction. (Today the DIA is known as the
BIA, Bureau of Indian Affairs.) These jurisdictions may have been a
reservation, clan, band, rancheria, school, agency, hospital, or other
entity, and at times, these designations were used interchang! eably. Indian censuses
as found on National Archives and Records Administration microfilm
publication M595 (692 rolls!) spanning 1885-1940 were posted at
Ancestry on June 25th and offer wonderful pictures of Indian families.
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