Enrollment Cards of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914

The enrollment or census cards prepared by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes (Dawes Commission) between 1898 and 1914 are very useful in researching the family history of members of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes. Microfilm copies of the enrollment cards are available at the Historical Society and through interlibrary loan.

The Commission enrolled individuals as citizens of the tribes, and the cards record information provided by individual application submitted by members of the same family or household, along with notations of action taken by the Commission. Typically, they list name, roll number, age, sex, degree of Indian blood, and parents' names, and provide references to enrollment on earlier lists.

Within each tribe and enrollment category, cards are arranged numerically by "census card" number. Finding the card for an individual is a three-step process. First, use the Index to the Final Rolls on the first reel (MS 1973) to obtain the roll number for the individual. [The Index is also available in book form at the Historical Society and in many other libraries.] The index is divided into sections by tribe (Cherokee, Creek and Seminole together, and Choctaw and Chickasaw together) and within each tribe by enrollment category (citizens by blood, citizens by marriage, newborn citizens by blood, minor citizens by blood, freedmen, minor freedmen, and newborn freedmen). The index lists the tribal roll number for each individual.

Second, look under that roll number in the Final Rolls (on the same reel of film) to obtain the census card number for the individual. The Final Rolls and the enrollment or census cards are also arranged by tribe and then by enrollment category.

Third, use the listing below to find the reel of film containing that tribe, enrollment category, and census card number.

"D" cards were for persons whose applications were considered doubtful, and "R" cards were for rejected applications. No indexes have been located for these.

These enrollment cards were microfilmed from originals in the National Archives.