Native American Heritage

Record Group 513: Indian Health Service

The National Archives houses historical records of the Indian Health Service (IHS) in Record Group 513. These records include correspondence, program files, statistical reports, and other administrative records documenting federal health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Also included are photographs and motion pictures created by the IHS.

The National Archives does not have custody of IHS patient records. If you received services from an IHS hospital or service unit, you will need to contact that facility directly to inquire about your medical records. See IHS Locations for a list of IHS facilities.

Return to American Indian and Alaska Native Records in the National Archives

Agency Overview

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In Article 2 of an 1854 treaty, the United States promised to provide the Rogue River Indians with “a hospital, medicines, and a physician.”

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Providing health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives grew out of the government-to-government relationship between the U.S. government and federally recognized tribes. Many treaties signed during the nineteenth century stipulated that the federal government would provide health services to Indian tribes in exchange for their land; Congress also occasionally appropriated funds for targeted programs like immunizations for tribes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) typically administered these services locally at the agency or school level, sometimes collaborating with other federal agencies (including the U.S. military).

The Snyder Act of 1921 (42 Stat. 208) formalized the federal government’s role in providing “relief of distress and conservation of health” for Indian tribes, authorizing the BIA to spend funds appropriated by Congress for that purpose. Between the mid-1920s and the early 1950s, the BIA worked closely with the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) to operate agency and school clinics and hospitals and provide other medical services to tribes.

In 1954, Congress formally transferred responsibility for federal Indian health services from the BIA to the USPHS (68 Stat. 674). The USPHS’s newly created Division of Indian Health began administering former BIA-operated hospitals, health centers, school infirmaries, and other locations on July 1, 1955. In an administrative reorganization on October 31, 1968, the Division of Indian Health was redesignated the Indian Health Service (IHS).

The IHS today provides health services to over two million American Indians and Alaska Natives. For more information on the IHS’s history and governing legislation, see the following IHS resources:

IHS Agency Overview
IHS Legislation
Indian Health Service Gold Book – The First 50 Years of the Indian Health Service, available online at IHS Fact Sheets.

Records Overview

Textual Records

Note: Most IHS records are not yet digitized.

Textual records of the IHS are housed at different National Archives research facilities, depending on the location of the IHS office.

Select series are listed below. For the full archival records descriptions in the National Archives Catalog, please click on the National Archives Identifiers provided.

A Note About Privacy Restrictions

Records that are less than 75 years old may contain personal information about individuals who are still living. These records are restricted under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemption (b)(6), and must be screened by National Archives staff before being released to researchers. Personal information may be redacted. Learn more about FOIA.

For questions related to these series, please contact the research facility where the records are housed.

Division of Indian Health Headquarters — “Correspondence, 1955–1958” (National Archives Identifier 7260732)
- Contact the Textual Reference Branch at the National Archives at College Park, MD, with questions about these records.
Alaska Area Native Health Service — “Decimal Files, 1947–1979” (National Archives Identifier 656542)
- Contact the National Archives at Seattle with questions about these records.
Billings Area Office — “Environmental Health Programs Construction Projects Records, 1972–1995” (National Archives Identifier 75506915)
- Contact the National Archives at Denver with questions about these records.
Nashville (TN) Area Office — “Tribal Health Program Files, 1982–2002” (National Archives Identifier 101784461)
- Contact the National Archives at Atlanta with questions about these records.

To identify additional IHS textual records, search the National Archives Catalog by record group number (“513”) and type of archival materials (“textual records”). See Using the National Archives Catalog for additional search tips, and Contact Us with questions.

Photographs and Graphic Works

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Nurse and Mother at Public Health Service Indian Hospital, San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona

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The Still Picture Branch at the National Archives at College Park, MD, houses photographs, posters, and other graphic works maintained by the IHS. These images document IHS public health campaigns, facilities, and personnel, among other topics.

Select series are listed below. For the full archival records descriptions in the National Archives Catalog, please select the National Archives Identifiers provided.

“Posters Relating to Health Campaigns, 1968–2016” (National Archives Identifier 78090986)
“Photographs Relating to Native American Indian Health Care, 1968–2015” (National Archives Identifier 39627691)

Contact the Still Picture Branch at stillpix@nara.gov for more information about these records.

Video and Sound Recordings

The Moving Image and Sound Branch at the National Archives at College Park, MD, houses video and sound recordings maintained by the IHS. Topics covered include disease prevention, improvement of patient care, recruitment into the IHS, and activities of IHS officials.