Sub-series consists of Indian Registers covering the period 1951 to 2009. They record the names of all persons entitled to Indian Status under the Indian Act. The registers contain information on vital events, membership, familial relationships such as parents, marriages and children; as well as date of birth, religion, band number, education and occupation. The Indian Register was initially maintained manually. The paper records in this sub-series date from the period of manual registration. The paper records were frequently referred to in the creating agency as the "Black Registers".
The electronic records are from the Indian Membership System (IMS), precursor of the current (1999) system, the Indian Registration System (IRS). The IMS was set up within the Membership Division to provide an automated record of the current status of all Registered Indians in Canada. In 1970 Membership Division began the policy of transferring the local administration of membership function to Indian bands. The sub-series includes 17 Indian Membership electronic data files covering the period 1965-1981, copied from the system. They provide an annual "snapshot" of the Indian Register. The files contain demographic information on all Registered Indians Canada-wide. Data variables are: province; district or agency; band; family number; member code; surname; other name; given names; mother's initials; father's initials; religion; day born; month born; year born; residence; sex; marital status; age at time of event. (See G0000083, G0000150, G0000780, G0000152, G0000153, G0000154, G0000155, G0000156, G0000157, G0000158, G0000178, G0000220, G0000373, G0000762, G0000768, G0001045, G0001046, G0002779-G0002785, G0002789-G0002798, G0002830-G0002831).
The sub-series also includes 18 computer files relating to Indian Membership Events Files covering the period 1965-1981. These files provide a record of changes (events) which have been entered into the system each year (e.g., births, deaths, marriages). Since a record is kept of every vital event occurring for every Registered Indian it is not uncommon to have more than one vital event listed for an individual in the same year. It should also be noted that events occurring in one year may not be entered into the system until a subsequent year. These files do not contain lists of all Registered Indians but, rather, include only those individuals for whom at least one event is recorded during the year. The files also contain demographic information about the individual for whom an event is recorded. Data variables are: province; district or agency; band; family number; member code; surname; other name; given names; mother's initials; father's initials; mother's age on birth event; religion; day born; month born; year born; residence; sex; marital status; age at time of event; year event occurred; month of event; event code. (See G0000084, G0000159, G0000160, G0000161, G0000162, G0000163, G0000164, G0000165, G0000166, G0000179, G0000183, G0000180, G0000221, G0000374, G0000763, G0000769, G0001043, G0001044 .... see above).
Material post 2000 is associated with registration numbers 2001-1275, 2003-0988, 2004-1632, 2006-0190, 2007-0278, 2008-0222, 2009-0926, 2010-0015. The records for the 2002 fiscal year are associated with G0002830 & 2831.
