First Nations Research Guide

This guide is intended to help researchers locate material on British Columbia First Nations held at the BC Archives as well as to provide references to related resources available elsewhere.  It is not meant to be a general research guide on the subject, which is both broad in scope and complex in terms of the records available.  Some introductory works and general guides are listed below as well as some useful internet resources.  Call numbers have been provided for items in our collection.  For a general orientation on how to use the Archives see the Research orientation guide.

Published guides and resources

Duff, Wilson.  The Indian history of British Columbia:  the impact of the white man  Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 1997.  Originally published in 1964.  Although Duff’s text remains unchanged, the bibliography has been updated and some appendices added, including a table of name changes.  NW 970.4 A633 no.5 1997

Cottam, S. Barry.  Aboriginal peoples and archives: a brief history of aboriginal and European relations in Canada.  Ottawa: National Archives of Canada, 1997.

Joseph, Gene.  Sharing the knowledge: a First Nations resource guide.  Vancouver: Legal Services Society, 1992. 

McCardle, Bennett Ellen.  Indian History and claims: a research handbook.  2 vol.  Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1983.  NW 970.52 M123

McMillan, Alan D. and Eldon Yellowhorn.  First Peoples in Canada.  Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 2004.  Previously published as: Native peoples and cultures of Canada.
 
Russell, Bill.  Records of the federal Department of Indian Affairs at the National Archives of Canada: a source for genealogical research.  Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society, 1998.  NW 929.1072 R961

Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.  Stolen lands, broken promises: researching the Indian land question in British Columbia (second edition).  Vancouver: UBCIC, 2005. Covers basic research methods, historical background and a broad range of research topics including genealogy.  NW 970.5 U58r 1998 (first edition).

Young, Terry.  Researching the history of aboriginal peoples in British Columbia: a guide to resources at the British Columbia Archives and Records Service and BC Lands.  [Victoria, BC]: BC Lands, [1992].  NW 026.9711 Y77

Also useful for general background information on First Nations history in British Columbia is the Handbook of North American Indians, especially:  Vol. 4 History of Indian-White relations (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 1988), Vol.6 Subarctic (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 1981), Vol.7 Northwest Coast (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 1990), Vol. 12 Plateau (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 1998) and Vol. 13 Plains (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 2001).  Note the extensive bibliographies at the back of each volume.  NW 970.1 H236h (BC Archives has v. 6, v.7 and v. 12 only)

Internet resources (as of January 2010)

Aboriginal Canada portal

Aboriginal peoples (Library and Archives Canada links to resources and databases)

Aboriginal peoples - guide to the records of the Government of Canada

British Columbia Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation

First Nations House of Learning Xwi7xwa Library.  Includes useful links and the British Columbia First Nations names authority list

Indian Affairs annual reports 1864-1990

Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada

Treaties (BC)

Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs  Includes "Our Homes Are Bleeding Digital Collection", Report and minutes of decision of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for British Columbia (McKenna-McBride Commission) and UBCIC publications including Stolen Lands, Broken Promises, Our Homes Are Bleeding and The Lands We Lost.

Published Sources

The Archives has a large collection of published material related to First Nations history.  It consists of books, pamphlets, journal articles and sometimes theses (which may also be treated as manuscripts – see under Manuscript Material below).  These sources are useful in gaining an understanding of historical developments and overall context, as well as often providing leads to further material.
 
Search the library catalogue using keywords, subjects, names, authors or titles that you have identified as being of interest to your research.  Note that too broad or general a word (e.g. Indians) can yield a large number of references, many of which will not be relevant for your purposes.  It is a good idea to start with the most specific terms and broaden your search if necessary.

When looking for information about a particular nation or community, check under the name, e.g. Haida Indians, as well as their geographic location, e.g. Indians Queen Charlotte Islands.  Note that names have changed over time.  If you have found relevant citations, look at the subject headings for those references.  They may be useful in looking for further material.

Government publications

As government, both federal and provincial, played a large role in the history of Canada’s First Nations, government publications should not be overlooked in your research.  Some selected titles are listed below.

British Columbia.  British Columbia Gazette.  1871 - . Notification of allotments of some reserves, land transactions.  Annual indexes.  NW 320.05 B862

British Columbia.  Papers connected with the Indian land question, 1850-1875.  Victoria:  Queen’s Printer, 1875.  Also published in the BC Sessional Papers.  Contains the 1871 Schedule of all Indian Reserves (surveyed) in the Province of British Columbia and edited versions of the texts of the Vancouver Island (Douglas) Treaties (see MS-0772 for copies of the originals).  NW 970.5 B862p

British Columbia.  Report of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for British Columbia.  Victoria: Acme Press, 1916.  4 vols.  Known as the  McKenna McBride Commission Report.   Contents: v.1:  Babine, Bella Coola, Cowichan, Kamloops; v.2:  Kootenay, Kwawkewlth, Lytton; v.3:  Naas, New Westminster, Okanagan, Queen Charlottes v.4:  Stikine, Stuart Lake, Treaty No. 8, West Coast, Williams Lake.   NW 970.5 B862.  Also on UBCIC web site.

British Columbia.  Statutes of British Columbia.  1871- .   Use the Index to the Journals of the Legislative Assembly to locate specific acts.  NW 348.711 B862

British Columbia.  Legislative Assembly.  Sessional Papers.  (Microfilm D25).  Published papers and reports tabled in the Legislative Assembly, many related to aboriginal issues.  There is an index to the Sessional Papers for 1872-1916.  For locating later Papers the Index to the Journals of the Legislative Assembly can be useful. 

Canada. Parliament.  Special Committees of the Senate and House of Commons meeting in joint session to inquire into the claims of the Allied Indian Tribes of British Columbia, as set forth in their petition submitted to Parliament in June 1926.  Proceedings, reports and the evidence.  Ottawa: King’s Printer, 1927.  Appendix  no. 2 to the Journals of the House of Commons, 1926-27 (NW 970.5 C214p).   Also published as Appendix to the Journals of the Senate of Canada (Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons appointed to inquire into the claims of the Allied Indian Tribes of British Columbia, as set forth in their petition submitted to Parliament in June 1926.  Report and evidence.  Ottawa: King’s Printer, 1927 (NW970.5 C214cr).

Canada. Report of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for British Columbia for 1872 & 1873.  Ottawa: L.B. Taylor, 1873.  NW970.5 C212e.  Also available online.

Canada.  Statutes of Canada.  Indian Act.  1876 - .  Certain editions of the Indian Act were published separately.   See The historical development of the Indian Act for a brief history (NW970.5 H673).

Fox, Christina.  Index to the Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, 1st session of the first Parliament, 1872 to the 2nd session of the twenty-ninth Parliament, 1971, inclusive. Victoria: Provincial Library, 1974.  NW328.71 F791.

Hendrickson, James E., ed.  Journals of the colonial legislatures of the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, 1851-1871.  Victoria:  Provincial Archives of British Columbia, 1980.  5 vols.  NW328.71101 J86.

Schedule of Indian reserves in the Province of British Columbia (Ditchburn-Clark report).  See GR-0931 and GR-2039 [B0085]

Some useful texts dealing with land and treaty issues

Cail, Robert E.  Land, man, and the law: the disposal of crown lands in British Columbia, 1871-1913.  Vancouver: UBC Press, 1974.  NW971.24 C134

Duff, Wilson, “The Fort Victoria treaties”, BC Studies 3 (Fall 1969), pp. 3-57.  NW971K B119 no.3

Excell, Robert, “History of Indian land claims in BC”, The Advocate, vol. 48, pt. 6 (December 1990), pp. 866-880.

Fisher, Robin, “Joseph Trutch and Indian land policy”, in J. Friesen and H.K. Ralston, eds. Historical essays on British Columbia.  Toronto, 1976.  NW971K F912

Foster, Hamar, "Letting go to the bone: the idea of Indian title in British Columbia, 1849-1927", in Hamar Foster and John McLaren, eds. Essays in the history of Canadian law, Vol. VI: British Columbia and the Yukon. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995, pp. 28-86.  NW349.711 E78

Harris, R. Cole, Making Native space: colonialism, resistance, and reserves in British Columbia, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002.  NW971.004 H34 2002

Madill, Dennis.  British Columbia Indian treaties in historical perspective. [Ottawa]: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1981.  NW970.53 M182.  Also available online. 

Madill, Dennis.  Selected annotated bibliography on BC Indian policy and land claims.  Ottawa: Research Branch, Indian and Northern Affairs, 1982.  NWp106.97053 M182

Morales, Robert.  “James Douglas meets Delgamuukw:  the implications of the Delgamuukw decision on the Douglas treaties.” [Vancouver, 2000].  Good historical background to the treaties pp.3-10.  Unpublished paper prepared for the Delgamuukw/Gisday'wa National Process.  Copy available at Reference Desk.

Tennant, Paul.  Aboriginal peoples and politics: the Indian land question in British Columbia, 1849-1989.  Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, c1990  NW 970.5 T296

Ware, Reuben.  The lands we lost: a history of cut-off lands and land losses from Indian reserves in British Columbia.  Vancouver: UBCIC, 1974.  NW970.52 W271o.  Also available UBCIC web site.

Native education and residential schools

Education and schooling of the aboriginal population of British Columbia was, as elsewhere in Canada, the responsibility of the federal government, although often undertaken by church organizations.  The most well-known aspect is, of course, the residential school.  A useful starting point is Native residential schools in Canada: a selective bibliography (2002) available on the Library and Archives Canada web site.  It includes “books, scholarly articles, school histories, personal accounts, theses, videos, and Internet resources.”  A search of the library catalogue on the BC Archives web site using the search phrase “residential school?” will yield titles held in our collection.  One useful publication, not in the BC Archives library, is A national crime:  the Canadian government and the residential school system 1879-1986, by John S. Milloy (University of Manitoba Press, 1999).  A comprehensive study, based on the author's extensive research for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, it also contains a lengthy bibliography.

Museum and ethnological publications

Museum publications are a rich source of ethnological information.  Some important early publications include those of the Bureau of American Ethnology (Smithsonian Institution), the American Museum of Natural History (including the Publications of the North Pacific Jesup Expedition, 1898-1909, NW970.1 J58) and the National Museum of Canada (now the Canadian Museum of Civilization).  For a guide to the BAE publications consult the  List of Publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology with index to authors and titles.  The 1956 and 1962 editions are in the BC Archives Library (NW970.4 S664l); the 1971 edition is online.   A comprehensive bibliography of National Museum of Canada/Canadian Museum of Civilization publications is also available online.  Many of the publications pertain to British Columbia and can be found in the BC Archives library.

A number of British Columbia Provincial Museum/Royal British Columbia Museum publications also deal with ethnological, archaeological and ethnobotanical subjects.   For a list of publications before 1992 see “One hundred years in print: a checklist of publications by the British Columbia Provincial Museum / Royal British Columbia Museum 1891-1991” (available at the Reference Desk).   Most of the Museum's publications are in the BC Archives library.

Ethnological observations are often to be found in early Geological Survey of Canada publications (e.g. G.M. Dawson's Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands 1878, NW971.1Q D272).  Early ethnological  information can also be found in the Report on the ethnological survey of Canada, 1899-1902 (NW970.1 B862) and in the Reports on the north-western tribes of Canada, 1885-1898 (NW970.1 B862b), both published by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. 

Periodicals

Do not overlook the information to be found in the journal literature.  The first place to start is with journal, or periodical, indexes, many of which are to be found online, and are searchable through academic and public library web sites.  Older periodical indexes may only exist in hardcopy, again available at academic and public libraries.  The BC Archives does not have these indexes.  Bibliographies in books and articles can also be a useful source of journal literature. Once articles have been identified, search the BC Archives libary online catalogue for the journal title.  Look at the holdings to determine if the desired issue is in the collection.

Some journals, such as BC Studies, BC Historical Quarterly, and Okanagan History have online indexes  as well as printed indexes.  There may also be, as with the Canadian Historical Review, links to digitized content, albeit often requiring paid subscriptions.  For other journals, such as the BC Historical Quarterly and the Canadian Journal of Native Studies there is free access to all or some of their digitized issues.

For a list of journals dealing with and/or produced by North American indigenous peoples as of 2005 see Native American journals.  The Indigenous studies portal index includes journal articles.

Manuscript Material

Manuscript material consists of unpublished, textual records, (e.g. correspondence of G.M. Sproat, Joint Reserve Commissioner, Newcombe family papers or Royal Commission on Indian Affairs transcripts of hearings).  They can be private records or government records and can be typed as well as handwritten.  They are primary sources which you will need to analyse and interpret in order to make them useful to your research. 

There is both a card and and an online index to records.  The pre-1974 card index (Government Records and Historical Manuscripts Catalogue – Old System) uses the old cataloguing classification (e.g. A/AE/Su8) and can be searched by subject, title and creator of the record.  Some of these records have been described as fonds and can be searched online using the Fonds Descriptions search option or on Memory BC (formerly BCAUL).

Textual records indexed online are catalogued as either a government record accession (GR) or a private record accession (MS).  Many have finding aids attached.  Copies of finding aids are also located in the Reference Room.  Finding aids can be box lists, file lists, volume lists, microfilm reel lists or indexes and should be consulted to help identify the items required.   Newer record descriptions are organized by the creator or collector and are called fonds.  These are available online using the Fonds Descriptions search option or on Memory BC.  Note that a fonds, e.g. the Department of Lands and Works fonds, usually comprises several records accessions.  Check the black duotang binders in the Reference Room, using the AAAA number, to obtain a list of of accession numbers.  Both our online catalogue and Memory BC can be searched by keyword.

Note:  A number of theses have been catalogued as manuscripts, others as library material.  Search both the library and textual record catalogues if you are looking for a particular thesis.

Government records

The most obvious and heavily used set of records is commonly referred to as the RG10 series.  These are “the historical records relating to Indian Affairs created by the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and its predecessors.  They include files, correspondence, letters and transcripts on all aspects of Indian administration for both headquarters and the field offices".  The originals are held by Library and Archives Canada.  RG10 consists of four series:  Pre-Confederation Records, Headquarters Records (including the Black (Western) Series and the School Files), Field Office Records and Land Records.  For a general description of these records see the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development fonds description (black duotang binder AAAA1330).  See also the Indian Affairs binder (no. 25) in the Reference Room and Aboriginal peoples - guide to the records of the Government of Canada.  The BC Archives has copies of some of the RG10 records on microfilm (see Appendix at the end of this guide), mostly relating to British Columbia.  Although there is a printed guide, it is out of date. 

One way to find records in RG10 is to search Government of Canada Files (limiting to RG10 records) on Archivianet.  If a microfilm reel number is given for a citation, you can check the conversion list in the Indian Affairs binder for the BC Archives reel number.  If the BC Archives does not have a copy, you may request the reel(s) on interlibrary loan from your local library.  If there is no reel number, the document is available only in the original and Library and Archives Canada must be contacted directly to request a copy.  Note that access to some LAC records is restricted.  Another option for searching archival records on the LAC web site is the new archives search.  Only the advanced search, however, allows limiting a search to RG10 records (enter RG10 as Archival Ref. Number).  If a records has been digitized (e.g. in the Black series), then there is a link to it in the search result display.

Records created by provincial government ministries and departments can also contain useful information. The Attorney General, for example, had wide-ranging responsibilities; its records touch on a number of aboriginal issues. The records of the Provincial Secretary are similarly wide-ranging; the department has been responsible at various times for such areas as education, health and welfare, and finance. Documents dealing with aboriginal matters are also to be found in Lands records and Executive Council records.  For an index to Indian-related correspondence in the Department of Lands and Works files, 1871-1912, see MS-2728.   Do not forget the records created during the Colonial period (ca. 1849-1871), including the Colonial Correspondence series (GR-1372) and various Colonial Office records.  Staff can advise you on how to access this material.

Non-government records

Many useful private records exist.  Records were created by institutions such as the Hudson’s Bay Company, schools and churches and by various individuals.  The entries in the catalogues will give you a basic description of a collection, the inclusive dates, and its extent. Some of these records are listed below.   Consult the finding aids, if available, for more detailed descriptions.

Hudson’s Bay Company records

MS-0772  Register of Hudson’s Bay Company land purchases from Indians in the neighbourhood of Fort Victoria, 1850-1852 and record of agreements with Indians (the Douglas treaties) etc.   Scanned copy and photocopy available.  Also on microfilm reel A01285.

MS-2053 and MS-2878.  Register for microfilmed documents at the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, ca. 1670-1949.   On microfilm reels A01270, A01271, A01815.  Search on the HBC Archives site for additional records.

F/53/H86  Copy of return of treaties made by Hudson’s Bay Company with Indian tribes shewing lands conveyed and sums paid 1850-1854.

Other private records

MS-1077 Newcombe family papers 1870-1955.  Correspondence, notebooks, subject files, annotated books, etc., of C.F. Newcombe and W.A. Newcombe, reflecting their interest in the ethnology, natural history and history of British Columbia. Includes G.T. Emmons correspondence, notes and manuscripts, mainly on the Tlingit Indians.

MS-1116 and MS-2720 Society for the Furtherance of BC Indian Arts and Crafts/Indian Arts and Welfare Society records 1939-1954. 

MS-1175  Denys Nelson papers re: British Columbia Indians 1923-1927.

MS-1290 John Douglas Leechman papers 1924-1978.  National Museum of Canada anthropologist.

MS-2101  Marius Barbeau’s Northwest Coast files 1910-1969.   National Museum of Canada ethnologist active in BC.  See John Cove, A Detailed Inventory of the Barbeau Northwest Coast Files NW 016.9703 T76b.

MS-2181 and MS-2763  Emily Carr papers 1879-1946.   Includes Carr’s views on her Native subjects and on Native art.

A/B/40/D75.2 Diary of a Trip to the Northwest Coast, April 22 to October 1840.  Includes “Notes on Traditions and Population of the Indians of the Northwest Coast”.  Transcript catalogued as F1/D75.

B/20/1853  Part of the Sir James Douglas private papers.  Includes census of Indian population in Vancouver Island and British Columbia, pp. 5-30.  Available on microfilm reel 737A.

H/D/R13  George Henry Raley papers, ca. 1893-1957.  Methodist missionary in Kitimat and Fort Simpson. Principal at the Coqualeetza Institute (Indian School) in Sardis from 1914 to 1945. He conducted extensive research into totem poles, Indian crafts and the Kitimat Indian language.  

Note: Access restrictions may exist on both government and non-government records.  Most provincial government records are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) as well as the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act.  Private records are subject to restrictions imposed by the donor.  Researchers are advised to verify the current access status of records they wish to consult, prior to visiting the Archives, by contacting the Reference Desk at 250-387-1952.

Maps, Photographs and Other Images, Sound Recordings, Moving Images, Newspapers, Vertical Files, Vital Events Records

A general description of and access tools for these resources can be found in the Research orientation guide.   

Maps

Use place names, or regions, names of reserves and subjects such as “fur trade” or “trapping” as well as subjects starting with “Indian” when consulting the cartographic records card catalogue in the Reference Room and online.  Note that very few maps are included in the online catalogue.  A small selection of maps can be viewed online.

Finding aids exist for some of the map collections, e.g. CM_E117 Trap line maps of central and northern British Columbia.  Copies are located in the Reference Room; some are also available online. 

Other than checking the cartographic catalogues, it may also be useful to look at the Historical atlas of Canada (NW 911.71 H673 v.1-3), A Sto:lo Coast Salish historical atlas (NW 971.11 S8 2001), Historical atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest (NW 911.7 H417 1999) and Atlas of Indian reserves and settlements of Canada, 1971 (NW 912.7052 A88a).

Photographs and other images

There are various binders of First Nations photographs in the Photo Reference Room.  Photographs may also be found in the Historical Photograph collection General Files, organized by place name and in the Portrait Files, organized by surname.   Search online by  band, place, subject, or personal name for photographs, paintings, drawings and prints.  Try variant names and spellings, truncation and wild cards (e.g. kwak?, na#s) as names are not standardized in the database.  A “List of paintings, drawings and prints in the Provincial Archives of British Columbia dealing with Indian subject matter or by Indian artists” (excluding works by Emily Carr) is located in the Photo Reference Room.  For Emily Carr's Native works see Unsettling encounters: First Nations imagery in the art of Emily Carr by Gerta Moray (UBC Press: Vancouver, 2006. NW759.11 M67).  A collection of over 23,000 ethno-historical photographs is also to be found in the Audio-Visual Collection of the Royal BC Museum.  An appointment is necessary to view this collection (250-387-2434).

For a useful overview see Early photographers of First Peoples in British Columbia, 1850-1930.   See also The Face-Pullers:  Photographing Native Canadians, 1871-1939 by Brock V. Silversides (Calgary: Fifth House, 2001) (NW 970.1 S587) and Copying People: Photographing British Columbia First Nations, 1860-1940 by Daniel Francis (Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1996) (NW 779.997 F735 1996).  E.S. Curtis photographs can be found in his 24-volume publication, The North American Indian (NW 970.1 C978) which is also available online.

Sound recordings

These include music as well as oral history.   Access and/or copying restrictions are noted in the catalogue entries.  Most of the collection has been catalogued online and can be searched by keyword, name, title, subject, place and/or date.  If your search terms do not yield any results or anything useful, try broadening your search and checking the description and subject headings of relevant citations for potential search terms. 

Sound recordings are often identified by interviewer or collector.  The Imbert Orchard collection and the Reynoldston Research and Studies collection, for example, both include First Nations material).  Another notable collection is that of ethnomusicologist Ida Halpern (T4339).  Sound recordings also form part of the Museum’s Audio-Visual Collection (see above). 

Exceprts from a number of oral history recordings have been published in the BC Archives Sound Heritage series.

Moving images

Some films date back to the early 20th century.  Access and/or copying restrictions are noted in the catalogue entries.  Search the online database by keyword, name, title, subject, place and/or date.  If your search terms do not yield any results or anything useful, try broadening your search and checking the description and subject headings of relevant citations for potential search terms. 

Two useful guides to films produced in British Columbia are Motion picture production in British Columbia, 1898-1940 by Colin Browne (Victoria: BCPM, 1979) (NW 791.43 B882) and Camera west: British Columbia on film, 1941-1965 by Dennis J. Duffy (Victoria: PABC, 1986) (NW 791.43 D858).

Newspapers

In addition to specific Native newspapers, e.g. Ha-Shilth-Sa and Native Voice, there are many community newspapers which will contain reports relating to First Nations issues. Most of the newspaper holdings at the BC Archives are on microfilm. If you know the date of an event, check the newspaper for that time period.  Depending on the time period, and the newspaper, there may be a subject index.  See the Research orientation guide for more details.

Some newspapers have been digitized including the British Colonist (1858-1910),   selected issues of Native Voice (1947, 1949-1955) and various Union of BC Indian Chiefs newsletters from 1970 to 2002.

Vertical files

These are collections of newspaper and magazine clippings and other material prior to 1984 .  Both the index and files are on microfilm.  A four-volume hardcopy file list, arranged alphabetically, is also available. 

Vital events records

Although some may have been microfilmed separately, pre-1957 records, they are all included in the vital events records indexes on the BC Archives web site.  Be aware, however, that early Native births, deaths and marriages were not recorded by the Vital Statistics Branch and that the spelling of names may vary.  Try variant spellings and/or use the "Approximate Match" option.  For more information see the Guide to uding the BC Vital Statistics "Indian" birth, marriage and death registrations microfilm.

Appendix

“RG 10” (Indian Affairs) records at the BC Archives.

GR-0123 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs British Columbia, 1858-1968.  Records of the Office of the Indian Reserve Commissioner for British Columbia (1884-1898), the Office of the Indian Superintendent for British Columbia (1884-1894), plus records of the Office of the Indian Commissioner for BC and its antecedent, Office of the Chief-Inspector of Indian Agencies (1910-1956). Also included are records of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for British Columbia (1858-1930) along with field office records of the Nass, Skeena, and Queen Charlotte Indian agencies.

GR-0358 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs. 1879-1953.  Computerized finding aids to the School files. B-01854 contains a subject file, arranged alphabetically by school and agency. B-01855 contains a volume list.

GR-0933 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1876-1910.  Records of the Indian Reserve Commission (Joint Reserve Commission) relating to the allotment and establishment of Indian reserves in BC.

GR-0934 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1879-1956.  Central Registry system files. Miscellaneous files relating to Indian affairs in British Columbia. Includes files regarding Indian schools, game laws, trapping, fur conservation, fisheries and fishing regulations, enlistments, war funds and Indian veterans' pensions.

GR-1303 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs. 1874-1920.  Correspondence and representations received by the Royal Commission (McKenna-McBride) regarding the administration of Indian Affairs. Also included are various accounts regarding the compiling and printing of the Commission's 1916 Report.

GR-1342 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs. 1874-1954.  Finding aid for central registry files, 1833-1956, RG 10, volumes 7740-7919. This list shows Public Archives of Canada microfilm reel numbers, but contains only a portion of Record Group 10, central registry files available on microfilm. These files relate to all aspects of the administration of Indian Affairs throughout Canada. Topics include leases, rights of way, mining rights, timber resources, surveys and surrenders.

GR-1550 Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1833-1971.  Central registry files.

GR-1597 Canada. Dept. Of Indian Affairs, 1893-1909.  Letter books of the School Branch. Copies of letters sent by the Deputy Superintendent General concerning Indian school affairs.

GR-1729 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1876 – 1920.  Letter books containing copies of departmental correspondence relating to the administration of Indian affairs in both eastern and western Canada.

GR-1751 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1872-1950.  Central Registry System: Black (Western) series. The Black Series files deal with almost all aspects of the administration of Indian Affairs in Western Canada, 1872-1959. The bulk of the records concern the period 1872-1923.  These records are in the process of being digitized by Library and Archives Canada.  See Red and Black Series.

GR-2042 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1910-1920.  Records of the British Columbia Superintendency. Includes letter book, 1910-1919, of the Surveyor's Office, Victoria, correspondence regarding the surveys of Indian Reserves; letter books, 1910-1920, of the Inspector of Indian Agencies.

GR-2043 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1881-1948.  Records of British Columbia Indian Agencies; letter books, letters inward, subject files, general administration files, agents' journals, constable's reports, agricultural and industrial statistics, correspondence regarding the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia (1913-1916). Includes Alert Bay (1891-1909, 1913-1914), Babine (1888-1905), Bella Coola (1915- 1921), Cowichan (1881-1948), Kamloops (1888-1915), Kootenay (1906- 1919), New Westminster (1897-1922), Queen Charlotte (1888-1923), Stuart Lake (1910-1919), and West Coast (1895-1920) Indian Agencies.

GR-2686 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs. 1890-1952.  School files.
  
GR-2759 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs, 1905-1953.  School files. Mainly volumes relating to the Lejac Residential School but some volumes on the Colqualeetza and Kamloops Residential Schools.
 
GR-2928 Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs. 1876-1897.  Non-official census records of Indians in British Columbia in the following regions: Okanagan Agency, Cowichan Agency, New Westminster Agency, Shuswap and Okanagan Districts, New Westminster, Yale and Coast Districts, Vancouver, Northern Vancouver Island, and Babine Agency. Volumes 10010-10012a also contain comments by the Indian Reserve Commission of 1876-1877 regarding setting up of reserves.