Of all the official records of the various tribal nations (over 500) in the United States, the Dawes Rolls are some of the most heavily used through the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or the various online sources that share them (FamilySearch, Ancestry $, Fold3 $ are available)
In 1887, Congress passed “An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservation,” or simply the Dawes Act. Congress created the law to authorize the President to break up reservation lands (held in common among tribal members) into small land allotments for individuals. To determine who those individuals would be, a government commission was formed in 1893 to create an application process, led by Henry L. Dawes (a former senator from Massachusetts and the Congressional author of the Act). Over 250,000 applied for citizenship but just over 101,000 were enrolled for the land allocations and monies.
Those who qualified for enrollment under the Dawes Act as “citizens” of the various Indian nations included the “Five Civilized Tribes” or the Cherokee, Choctaw, Cree, Chickasaw and Seminole, as well as two additional groups – Freedmen (former Black slaves of Indians) and Delaware (who had been adopted by the Cherokee). Applicants could be enrolled as a Citizen by Blood (newborn or minors), Citizen by Marriage or in the categories of Freedmen or Delaware adoptees.
Proving descent from an individual on the Dawes Roll is a requirement for tribal membership in those tribes noted, with other tribal nations having other “rolls” for their citizens with names such as Baker, Guion Miller, Roblin and other names (named for a commission leader or Indian official who managed the application process). These rolls are used by the federal government to determine an individual’s status for the “Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood” – a controversial component of the federal government’s criteria for services, benefits and educational or medical benefits to tribal citizens.
Below are several tips to help you make the most of the Dawes Rolls in your own research as you learn more about your own Native American ancestors.
1. Verify your family lived in Indian Territory in the 1900 census.
It is necessary to first find out if your family lived in Indian Territory by using the 1910 and 1900 Censuses. These two censuses, especially the 1900 (as it is closest to the dates that the Dawes Rolls were created) can place your family or ancestor living in the Indian Territory as these censuses have a portion, at the bottom of the page, labeled “Special Inquiries Related to Indians. Looking at the “race” column, look for “Ind” particularly.
2. Find Out if Family or Individual Members (That are Direct Ancestors) are Listed in the Index
As an example, looking at FamilySearch – the Index to the Rolls, type in the last name (English name rather than “Indian” name) to find a person in this Index. Start with a last name first, perhaps, to determine if an individual may be among those on an index.
Looking through the index is a potential way of sorting families who may have had various first names or spellings of last names over the years. If you do locate an individual, the site shows you the basic information on the person and directs you to a Fold3 site for the actual Index Card. Do the names match what you know of parents and locations?
3. Find the Application Packet By Clicking Through on the Fold3 Image
Here, you will see the Dawes Roll “packet” which includes documentation justifying this person’s eligibility to be on the roll. Note: you must have an account directly with Fold3 or have it as part of your Ancestry membership for full access.
The details in the packet justify the enrollment of this person, and you can utilize this for potential enrollment. Applicants for enrollment must prove direct descent from someone on the roll. For example, if Thomas were your direct ancestor’s brother but you can not find your ancestor named on a roll, enrollment is not possible. It could be possible to determine if there are other documents that offer more detail on your ancestor that can attach them to these parents, but it is not possible to use Thomas’ packet for your justification. Also, as Thomas is listed either as 1/8 or 1/16 in these documents, be careful in looking at any information about his parents or who he married. A white person married to a Native person after December 16, 1895, could not be considered for citizenship nor children from that marriage.
4. Understand the Geography and History of the Tribal Groups
Check the NARA site for information about where tribes were enumerated across the United States. Tribes moved to avoid conflict with white settlers, to avoid military engagements and many were forced to move to territories not originally their homelands. It is important to know the dates and locations in conjunctions to determine what tribal groups were in that vicinity in those times. And it is important to remember that many tribes intermarried and merged for mutual protection and sharing resources.
Good luck in your research! If you need additional help, please check out the wide variety of YouTube, RootsTech and various company presentations from researchers and experts about these steps. You can also find specialists in researching tribal people through the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG), Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen).
You Discovered Native American Lineage in Your Research. How Can You Apply the “Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood”?
You can fill out the online form, which requires documentation (certified birth, marriage and death documents) for the key dates, locations and family relationships of your lineage. This certification from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) qualifies a descendant for associated government programs and services. Most tribal organizations require this before they extend citizenship to a living person.
Check the tribal government’s website, under “Enrollment Office,” for details of what is required for consideration of tribal citizenship. For example, you can find information posted on the Cherokee Nation (in Tahlequah, Oklahoma) website here. This nation is the largest of three Cherokee nations – the other two are United Band of Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (also in Tahlequah, Oklahoma) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee, in Cherokee, North Carolina.
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A version of this article appears in the October/November 2016 issue of Family Tree Magazine. Last updated: November 2025
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