List of Indian agencies in Nebraska facts for kids
In the 1800s, several special places called Indian agencies were set up in Nebraska. These agencies were run by the United States government's Bureau of Indian Affairs to work with the different Native American tribes living there. They were like offices where government agents would interact with the tribes, often about land, supplies, and treaties.
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Red Cloud Agency
This agency was created to serve the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe. It was named after their famous chief, Red Cloud. To help protect the agency, the United States built Fort Robinson nearby in 1874.
Spotted Tail Agency
When this agency was started in 1873, the Brulé Sioux tribe moved to this new location. It was near what is now Hay Springs. The agency built many buildings to help the Sioux community, including places to store goods, a carpentry shop, a sawmill, and stables.
To guard the agency, a military camp called Camp Sheridan was set up in 1874. By 1875, it had more than thirty buildings made of wood and brick. Later, the Brulé Sioux moved to the Rosebud Agency in South Dakota. After they left, Camp Sheridan was no longer needed and was closed in 1880.
Missouri River Indian Agency
This agency had a few different names, like the Upper Missouri Agency, the Bellevue Agency, and the Council Bluffs Agency. It was located at Fontenelle's Post, which used to be a place where people traded furs.
When the Upper Missouri Agency was first established in 1819, it was responsible for all the Native American tribes living in a huge area along the Missouri River in the Northern Plains. Its exact boundaries were not very clear.
In 1837, the agency was re-established to specifically help the Otoe, Missouria, Omaha, and Pawnee tribes. These tribes had been part of the larger Upper Missouri Agency before. Between 1849 and 1851, the Council Bluffs Agency became a smaller "subagency." It was finally closed in 1856 after the Omaha tribe agreed to give up their lands by treaty and moved to their own reservation in northeast Nebraska.
One of the agents, James Gatewood, worked with Omaha chiefs in 1854 to create a treaty about their land. However, the main government office didn't like his version. A smaller group of seven Omaha chiefs then went to Washington D.C. to sign a different treaty in 1854, and Gatewood was replaced as the agent.
Otoe Agency
This agency was founded in 1856 in the Blue River Valley in southern Nebraska. It was responsible for the Oto and Missouria tribes, and at first, the Pawnee tribe too. But in 1859, the Pawnee got their own separate agent.
The Otoe and Missouria tribes later moved closer to the Kansas-Nebraska border. In 1881, the Otoe Agency moved to Red Rock in Indian Territory (which is now Oklahoma). This happened when the U.S. government moved the Otoe-Missouria tribes to a reservation there.
Santee Agency
This agency moved from Michigan Territory in 1866. It was located on the Niobrara Reservation in what is now northeast Nebraska. This agency was responsible for the Santee Sioux tribe, who were also known as the Eastern Dakota.
Winnebago and Omaha Agencies
This was a combined agency that worked with both the Winnebago and Omaha tribes. It operated from 1876 to 1933. The agency was located in Macy and Winnebago. The Winnebago agency had moved to Nebraska in 1865, and the Omaha agency had been there since 1854.
Pawnee Agency
This agency was located at Genoa, on the Pawnee Reservation. It also included the Genoa Indian Industrial School, which was a school for Native American children. The Pawnee Agency was created in 1859 specifically for the Pawnee tribe. Before that, they had been part of the Otoe Agency since 1856, and even earlier, the Council Bluffs Agency.
The Pawnee Agency stayed in Genoa, Nebraska, until 1875. Then, it moved to the new Pawnee Reservation in Oklahoma Territory after the U.S. government moved the Pawnee tribe from Nebraska.
Ponca Agency
This agency served the Ponca tribe from 1859 to 1877 at the Ponca Reservation. In 1877, the agency moved with most of the Ponca people to the Oklahoma Territory. This move happened even though the Ponca wanted to stay in Nebraska and live on land near the Omaha tribe, who they were closely related to and often married.
Great Nemaha Agency
The Great Nemaha Agency became a full agency in 1851. The Kickapoo tribe, who had been part of the Fort Leavenworth Agency, moved to Great Nemaha. A separate Kickapoo Agency was then set up in 1855 for the Kickapoo and some Pottawatomi people who lived with them.
Between 1854 and 1861, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and the Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska tribes gave up most of their lands, keeping only small areas on the Kansas-Nebraska border. In 1858, a new main office for the Great Nemaha Agency was built on the Iowa Reserve, just east of the Great Nemaha River and north of the Kansas-Nebraska state line. Later, many of its activities were combined with agencies in Kansas.
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