Native American Heritage

Employment Records

Headquarters and Field Office Employees, Agents, Superintendents, and Officials

Finding, Navigating, and Exploring Employment Records

Thousands of individuals worked in federal offices responsible for the administration of American Indians including reservations, agencies, and related affairs. While some employees such as agents, officials, and superintendents were appointed to their positions, many people like teachers, nurses, and construction workers submitted applications.

Here are just a few areas to research for documents related to individual employment.

Official Register of the United States, 1817-1925

Contains a listing of civilian, military, and naval employees, officers, and agents of the federal government
Includes Indian Agents, inspectors, special Indian agents, and allotting agents
To look up an individual by name, contact Archives Library and Information
Available at many Federal Depository Libraries
More information about Native American Employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Official Register of the U.S.

Employee Appointments, 1849-1907

Appointments to federal agencies by the President and the Secretary of the Interior Department
Includes Indian Agents, inspectors, special Indian agents, and allotting agents
Listing of resources about Indian Agents and Superintendents, 1849-1907
Information on Interior Department Employees: Records of the Appointments Division, 1849-1907

Rosters of Employees, 1848-1963

Includes information on Indian Agents, superintendents, and other field officials
More information on Rosters of Indian Affairs Employees

Official Personnel Folders (OPFs), 1850-1951

The functions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs have fallen under the Department of the Interior since 1849.
Official Personnel Folders (OPFs) and service record cards are available to the public. OPFs detail the employment history of civil servants while service record cards offer a summary of employment to include appointments, promotions, demotions, transfers, and separation from service.
Learn about accessing and obtaining copies of these records

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 1933-1942

Enlarge

CCC-ID banquet, 1939

National Archives Identifier 285420

Prologue Articles about the CCC

Dangers in the Civilian Conservation Corps, Accident Reports, 1933–1942 highlights the challenges faced by the employees.
Into the Woods: The First Year of the Civilian Conservation Corps discusses the early years of the CCC.

From 1922 -1942, the CCC hired thousands of young men to improve local infrastructure and participate in conservation projects. Within the organization, the CCC operated a sub-division that employed only American Indians--the Civilian Conservation Corps - Indian Division (CCC-ID). The CCC and CCC-ID were each responsible for maintaining records related to their employees and projects.

Locating the records:

CCC and CCC-ID records are kept and accessed separately.
- CCC "Individual Records" are available from the National Archives at St. Louis. Learn more about these documents and make a request for copies.
- CCC-ID records were maintained by the individual Bureau of Indian Affairs agencies overseeing the reservations where the work occurred. CCC-ID records include personnel files, rosters, reports, and lists of enrollees. Consult the Guide to Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to determine the location of records of interest.

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