The Bureau of Indian Affairs established multiple agencies to manange the Native American people and their lands in the Indian Territory. Over time, many of these agencies were renamed or merged with other agencies. Knowledge about a tribe's agencies during a given time period can be helpful when searching for genealogical records.
Current Counties | Territorial Counties | Indian Territories | Indian Agencies
| Agency | Description |
|---|---|
| Anadarko Indian Agency | Located in Anadarko to manage tribes in southwestern Indian Territory, including the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache (Plains Apache), Caddo, and Wichita. | Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Agency | Located at Concho to administer the Cheyenne Arapaho and tribes. Later changed to the Concho Indian Agency. |
| Choctaw Indian Agency | Operated at sites like Fort Towson, Scullyville, and Boggy Depot before being folded into the Union Agency. |
| Five Civilized Tribes Indian Agency | Established in 1914 to manage the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole Nations. |
| Kiowa, Comanche, and Wichita Indian Agency | Located in Anadarko to manage tribes in southwestern Indian Territory, including the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache (Plains Apache), Caddo, and Wichita. Later changed to the Anadarko Indian Agency. |
| Miami Agency | Administered the Miami, Modoc, Ottawa, Peoria, Quapaw, Seneca-Cayuga, Shawnee, and the Wyandotte. |
| Oakland Indian Agency | Established for the Tonkawa tribe. Merged into the Ponca Agency in 1921. |
| Osage Indian Agency | Located at Pawhuska to administer the Osage Nation. Evolved from the Neosho Subagency and Neosho Agency. |
| Otoe Indian Agency | Established separately in 1856, reestablished between 1901 and 1904, and later operated as a subagency under the Pawnee Agency after 1919. |
| Pawnee Indian Agency | Managed the Pawnee, Kaw, Otoe-Missouria, Tonkawa, and Ponca tribes. |
| Pawnee, Ponca, and Otoe Indian Agency | Formed in 1881 when the Otoe and Missouria Indians moved to Oklahoma Territory and merged into a single agency |
| Ponca Indian Agency | First established in Indian Territory in 1877 when the Ponca were forcibly removed. Merged into the Pawnee, Ponca,and Otoe Indian Agency. Administered the Kaw, Pawnee, Ponca, Otoe-Missouria, and Tonkawa tribes. Reestablished in 1921 for the Ponca, Tonkawa, and Otoe-Missouri Indians. |
| Quapaw Indian Agency | Managed the Eastern Shawnee, Miami, Modoc, Ottawa, Peoria, Quapaw, Seneca-Cayuga, and Wyandottes. Was changed to the Miami Agency in 1947. |
| Sac & Fox Indian Agency | Administered the Sac & Fox, Absentee Shawnee, Iowa, Kickapoo, and the Citizen Potawatomi tribes. |
| Shawnee Indian Agency | Split off from the Sac & Fox Indian Agency in 1901, then consolidated back with the Sac & Fox Indian Agency in 1919. Located near Tecumseh to administer the Absentee Shawnee, Citizen Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Iowa, Mexican Kickapoo, and the Sac & Fox tribes. |
| Union Agency | Established in 1874 at Muskogee to consolidate administrative duties for the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole). Later evolved into the Five Civilized Tribes Indian Agency in 1914. |
| Wewoka Agency | Administered the Seminole Nation. Later folded into the Five Civilized Tribes Indian Agency. |
Page updated:
State Coordinator: Linda K. Lewis
Asst State Coordinator: Rebecca Maloney
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