How to Find a Native American Navajo's Tribe Number
If you are searching for historic information on Diné, or the People -- which is how Navajos refer to themselves -- you can find numerous books, recordings and websites, including the Navajo Nation homepage. But if you are looking for a particular roll number, you will have to do a little legwork. Unlike information on the historic Dawes Rolls which list only those names and numbers documenting Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole tribes, historic information on Navajos is harder to locate. Finding information for someone alive today or who has lived recently is best done by contacting the tribe directly.
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Instructions
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Know the name and any other identifying information of the tribal member you are looking for. Ideally you will have both their Americanized and Indian names, we well as their approximate date of birth.
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Study the Indian census rolls on file with the National Archives. These rolls are available both in person and online. Viewing is free, but downloads or data ownership comes at a cost. Records begin with the 1885 census, and extend through the mid-20th century.
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Contact the Navajo Nation directly by writing, phoning or dropping by an office in person. Tribes are often hesitant to give out personal information including tribe number on living members without their consent, so be sure to be upfront about explain your rationale for requesting the information.
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Contact the National Archives facility in Fort Worth, Texas at (817) 831-5620. Ask them to check their alphabetical indexes for the tribal member's name. Fort Worth has a more complete index of people than you can find online. They also have microfiche collections that are more current than those on file with the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and staff members can often help you locate a specific file.
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Contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs (bia.gov) for more specific Navajo tribe information. The staff of this government agency may be able to point you in the right direction if you are not finding answers more directly.
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