Bureau of Vital Statistics Native American birth certificates, 1916-1952.

The birth certificates in this series were issued to Native Americans in Utah outside of the regular birth registration process that began in 1905 (Laws of Utah, 1905, chapter 120). Most if not all of these individuals were born on one of the Indian reservations in Utah, with one or both parents being considered Indian as a race. Some certificates indicate the specific tribe, and a few also include the amount of Indian blood in quarters, such as 1/4 or 4/4.

The relationship between both federal and state governments and Native American tribes, tribal governments, and individuals is complex and constantly changing. Although considered sovereign nations by the U.S. Government, tribes are also limited by a standing of a "ward to its guardian" as espoused by the Supreme Court (Cherokee Nation vs. State of Georgia, 30 U.S. 1). As such, most governing actions occur on the federal level, with limited effect in any one state.

The Constitution of the State of Utah in 1895 set out to "make no distinction in civil or political rights on account of race or color, except as to Indians not taxed" (Constitutional Convention, Day 1). The status of "not taxed" stems from the United States Constitution, and the Fourteenth Amendment. Interpretations over time, such as for the federal census, eventually settled upon a definition of Native Americans as individuals living on tribal lands and not assimilated into non-native (white) society. This is reflected in a Constitutional Convention discussion on elections and suffrage that the post-Civil War Fifteenth Amendment "gives the Indian--aborigines of this country--the right when he severs his tribal relations and is taxed." (Day 27). Citizenship for Native Americans was granted piecemeal until the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, for "all non-citizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States." Some limitations that may or may not have been affected by a state-issued birth certificate continued in Utah, such as not being allowed to register to vote when living on a reservation, which was ended in 1957 (Laws of Utah, 1957, chapter 38).

Various standard certificate forms are found in this series, from the U.S. Census Bureau to whatever was being used in Utah, plus a few from neighboring states. The information on certificates includes the child's name, place of birth, date of birth, sex, and if child is part of a multiple birth; the parents' name, race, age, birthplace, occupation, and marital status; a record of children previously born to the mother; the length of the pregnancy; the child's weight and length at birth; the date of the serological test; a description of any complications; and a description of any congenital malformations or birth injuries.