This is only a brief overview about the Dawes Roll and how to go about finding if your ancestor had a roll number.
First, do your genealogy. On an earlier blog I give some tips to help get started with genealogy, in that post there is a link to a pedigree chart. Fill one out from yourself back to your ancestors who would have been living in 1900. The ancestor had to be living in Indian Territory. Indian Territory encompassed most of the eastern portion of what is now known as Oklahoma.
If you find you have an ancestor listed in the 1900 U. S. Federal Census as living in Indian Territory then check the Dawes Final Roll index for that person. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/finalindex.php
If you find an ancestor listed in the Dawes Final Roll index you need the census card number. This number corresponds to an application file and a census card. The census card names the people in the household, and sometimes the parents of the applicants. The applications are a series of questions which were answered by the applicant. Sometimes the files contain birth records, marriage records or affidavits as well as correspondence.
The applications and census cards have been microfilmed and are available at these locations:
Southwest Region National Archives (Fort Worth, TX)
http://www.archives.gov/southwest
Oklahoma Historical Society (Oklahoma City, OK)
http://www.okhistory.org/
Fort Smith Public Library (Fort Smith, AR)
http://www.fortsmithlibrary.org/
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/tutorial/dawes/#before
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/heritage/native-american/ancestor-search.html#pre
