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Ojibwe Family History Research: Land Records

Bureau of Indian Affairs Records

Lists of Lands Affected by White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act of 1985, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Washington, D.C.: The Bureaus, 1986.
MNHS call number: FOLIO E99 .C6 L68 1986

Lists Showing the Degree of Indian Blood of Certain Persons Holding Land Upon the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota; and a List Showing the Date of Death of Certain Persons Who Held Land Upon Such Reservation, Bureau of Indian Affairs. 
Washington,[D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1911.
MNHS call number: E78 .M7 U5

U.S. General Land Office Records

Register of Chippewa Half-Breed Scrip Entries, 1858-1880.
An abstract of land entries made in the Duluth land district with Chippewa half-breed scrip, issued to mixed-blood Ojibwe to extinguish their title to land originally reserved to them by treaties of 1854 and 1866. The abstract for each scrip entry gives entry number, scrip number, date the scrip was issued, person to whom it was issued, person by whom the scrip was located, date located, legal description of the tract located, and occasional remarks with citations to letters from the commissioner of the General Land Office.  
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid

Register of Final Homestead Certificates for Chippewa Land, 1899-1908.
An abstract of final homestead certificates for homestead entries made on ceded Chippewa (Ojibwe) reservation land under provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Nelson Act of January 14, 1889. This series consists primarily of homestead entries on land ceded from the White Earth Reservation.  
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid

Register of Indian Allotment Entries under the Nelson Act, 1901.
A schedule of land entries made in the Crookston land district for Indian allotments on the Ojibwe reservations under provisions of an act of January 14, 1889, which provided for cession of most of the Ojibwe reservation land in Minnesota and opening of the remaining land to homestead entry or timber auction. The record of each allotment entry gives allotment number, Indian and/or English name of the allottee, tribal band of the allottee, legal description of the tract covered by the allotment, allottee’s age in the 1889 census or year of birth if born since 1889, blood status of allottee (full or mixed), and stamped dates apparently indicating the date a patent was issued. The records are arranged by allotment number; the allotments for each band are grouped together. 
MNHS call number: Digital Copy

Registers of Indian Allotment Entries Under the Dawes Act, 1888-1908 & Registers of Indian Allotment Entries Under the Nelson Act, 1896.
The Dawes and Nelson acts provided for the cession of reservation land and the granting of individual allotments of land to enrolled tribal members. These registers record the applications of tribal members to receive their allotted land. They give allotment application number, name (Indian and/or English) of the applicant, application date, description of the land being applied for, and usually remarks on approval or cancellation of the application. Some give age or birth year. Some also include separate columns for children on whose behalf an application was being made (with the implication that the applicant was a parent). Although the data in these registers is fairly sparse in terms of genealogical interest, they do show land-holdings and give some idea of family relationships. There are five lists covering four of these registers (one register is in two parts). The lists are of the individual entries in numerical order and give application number, applicant’s name(s), and date of application. 
MNHS call number: Duluth Land District Finding AidSt. Cloud Land District Finding AidCrookston Land District Finding Aid
MNHS call number: Duluth IndexBois Forte IndexGrand Portage IndexSt. Cloud IndexCrookston Index

Register of Red Lake and Pembina Scrip Entries, 1873-1906.
An abstract of land entries made with Red Lake and Pembina scrip. The authorization for this scrip is not specified on the abstract, but it probably pertains to cessions under treaties with the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Ojibwe of 1863 and/or 1867. The abstract for each scrip entry gives entry number, scrip number, person to whom the scrip was issued, legal description of the tract entered with the scrip, date the tract was entered, person who located the scrip, and occasional remarks with citations to letters from the commissioner of the General Land Office. The records are copies of originals that were sent to the General Land Office.
MNHS call numberDigital Finding Aid

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