This five-volume undertaking is based on the Chickasaw enrollment cards, sometimes called "census cards," prepared by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes (the Dawes Commission) between 1898 and 1914. The Commission's purpose was to rule on citizenship applications submitted by members of the Five Civilized Tribes covering some 250,000 persons. The Commission ultimately enrolled 101,000 people according to the following categories, indicating its findings on the enrollment cards: Citizens by Blood, Citizens by Marriage, New Born Citizens by Blood, Minor Citizens by Blood, Freedmen (former black slaves of Indians), New Born Freedmen, and Minor Freedmen. The genealogical contents of the cards has been transcribed from National Archives Microfilm Series M-1186: Roll 67, pp. 1-662; and Roll 68, pp. 663-1424.
This transcription of the Chickasaw Enrollment cards provides the following information on each individual whose name appeared in a given application: county of residence, post office (local address), name, relationship to first person named in application, age, sex, blood tribal enrollment (year, town, page), and similar identifying information for the parents of the first person named. In addition to the foregoing standard information, which has been arranged in a tabular format, researchers will discover valuable data in the "Notes" section at the conclusion of each card's contents. Besides the Dawes Roll No., the Notes contain other name listings, references to different cards, birth dates, death dates, listings on various payrolls with years, mention of a spouse in the "doubtful" category or from another tribe, and more. In all, Volume I of Chickasaw by Blood names 3,500 persons seeking citizenship status at this crucial time in Native American history.