National Archives at Chicago Close September 2026! Impact on Loss of Ancient Native History!

The “National Archives” at Chicago is Closing: What This Means for Native Communities!

The National Archives and Records Administration informed its staff that it plans to close the National Archives at Chicago! They claim closure of the South Side center will take place “over the next few years.” The records and documents will be relocated, but it’s unclear as to where and how these will be accessible, particularly the Ancient Native Indigenous Tribes

In a June 23rd email to staff, the Agency — which functions as the nation’s record keeper — informed its employees that “over the next few years” it will close the National Archives at Chicago, 7358 S. Pulaski Road, and its San Francisco/San Bruno facility, as well as move all temporary records from the Seattle Records Center. Many of the records in Chicago have not been digitized and are only available in person. Please share this article far and wide with all First Nations and relative entities. No doubt they plan to do this worldwide. It’s a land grab that will destroy Mother Earth.

Allegedly, two of the Chicago Archivists claim that the NIH Board of Directors are transporting out all Bureau of Indian Affairs records, which are housed at this location, with zero transparency, as to where these records are going, by September 1st. This includes archeological details, creation origins, bone structures, ALL Native Treaties, land, genealogy, birth/death records (heritage)! This information was only recently presented to Native tribes, through the grapevine. The move would relocate court records, immigration case files, Bureau of Indian Affairs documents and other primary material that scholars, lawyers and family historians have leaned on for decades.

According to a whistleblower, the National Institute of Health, Board of Directors, of which ‘diabolic’ Anthony Fauci was a Director until 2022, is behind this plan to wipe out entire histories of Native peoples in North America. Fauci is the creator/owner of the 2002 Sars CoV2 patent, which was banned, at US Chapel Hill lab, November 2015, declared a “dangerous bioweapon”. Fauci brought it up to the Winnipeg lab, where newly appointed PM Trudeau, December 2015, sold it to Gates Wuhan lab for $500 million, plus a $40 kickback for every dose sold worldwide.

Jay Trainer, Administrator in charge of day-to-day operations at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in San Francisco, said that this move will help the agency with its term financial health. He also said it will reduce the amount of estate the agency owns. The ‘NARA’ has not presented anything publicly, to date.

Writer, Anthony Clark reported on this news. He did not get the information from the National Archives and Records Administration through a public or Tribal process.

Q: Why is the Chicago facility important to communities? The Chicago facility has a lot of records that are important to Native communities. These records are called Record Group 75. They are the records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The records are for Nations connected to Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. The records at the National Archives at Chicago include files about treaties, correspondence, land and trust property records and litigation files. These records are very important to Native communities. Tribal governments, genealogists and attorneys use these records to learn about treaty history, to discover reservation boundaries and establish citizenship and lineage. They also use the records to do research regarding boarding schools and to support lawsuits.

Q: What about the boarding school records at the National Archives at Chicago? The National Archives at Chicago has records about boarding schools in the region. These records include student case files, correspondence, group photographs, school censuses, administrative and health records. For example, the National Archives at Chicago has records about the Mount Pleasant Indian School and Agency in Michigan. These records are from 1892 to 1934. These records are very important to the government’s own research about the boarding school era, (where children from 4 up were taken from their parents and brutally forced to become ‘white men’). The Interior Department used these kinds of records to document deaths, abuse and the operation of the schools. If these records are moved or mishandled during the facility closure, they can be lost. This will be very bad for survivors, families and Tribes who are still trying to find out what happened to their children.

Q: What about the land and trust records at the National Archives at Chicago? The National Archives at Chicago has land and trust property records, and allotment, and probate files. These records are directly tied to how the federal government has managed individual Indian trust assets and resources. These records are not paperwork. For families an allotment record or probate file is the only proof of an inherited land interest, a trust asset or a lineal connection. The National Archives and Records Administration has not said how these records will be taken care of during the move.

Q: Where will the records from the National Archives at Chicago go? The National Archives and Records Administration has not said where the records from the National Archives at Chicago will go. It has not said how the move will happen or how people will be able to access the records during the transition. Advocacy groups and professional organizations are demanding that the National Archives and Records Administration make a plan for the relocation of the records. They want the plan to be made public before any records are moved.

Q: Will the staff at the National Archives at Chicago lose their jobs? The National Archives and Records Administration has said that the news of the closure may be upsetting for its employees. It has called the closures “challenging” for the employees who work at the facilities that are closing. However the National Archives and Records Administration has not made any commitments about what will happen to the staff who work with the records. Organizations like the Organization of American Historians are worried that the staff, who know the most about the records, will lose their jobs. This will be very bad, because the staff have knowledge about the records that will be hard to replace.

Q: Has the National Archives and Records Administration spoken to Tribal Nations about the closure? It does not seem like the National Archives and Records Administration has talked to Tribal Nations about the closure. Archival and records-management organizations have said that the National Archives and Records Administration should talk to Tribal Nations about the closure. They have said that Tribal Nations have an interest in the records that are being kept at the National Archives at Chicago. When the National Archives and Records Administration tried to close its facility in Seattle in 2020 Tribal Nations were able to stop the closure. The Office of Management and Budget said that the process had not followed Tribal consultation policy. The same thing must happen this time. The National Archives and Records Administration must talk to Tribal Nations about the closure. Make sure that they are involved in the process.

Q: Why is it important that many of these records are the “copy”? It is very important that many of these records are the copy. If they are lost or damaged they can never be replaced. The National Archives and Records Administration has said that many of the records at the National Archives at Chicago have not been digitized. They are only available in person. If a record is lost or damaged during the move it may be gone forever. This will be very bad for Tribal Nations who rely on these records to prove their treaty rights establish their lineage and support their claims to land.

Q: What will happen to researchers who need to access the records? Even if the records are not lost researchers will still face challenges. They will have to wait a time to get access to the records. For example, one researcher had to pay $150 to get 200 pages scanned from another National Archives facility. This kind of delay can be very bad for citizens who need to access the records to establish their enrollment, pursue a land claim or support litigation.

Q: Has a closure like this been reversed before? Yes it has. The National Archives and Records Administration tried to close its facility in Seattle in 2020. However after many people spoke out against the closure it was reversed. Advocacy groups are hoping that the same thing will happen this time. They are organizing against the closure of the National Archives at Chicago and the San Bruno facility. They are saying that the fight to save these facilities is important, because it will help to preserve the history and culture of communities.

U.S. Department of the Interior “Secretary Haaland Announces Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative”: Note: This is a developing story. As of this writing by Clan Mother Hehewuti the National Archives and Records Administration has not published a relocation plan, a timeline, a staffing plan or documentation of Tribal consultation, for the Chicago closure. Readers and Tribal citizens who want to act should consider requesting digital copies of any known family or Tribal records held at the National Archives at Chicago, before any move begins and contacting Tribal historic preservation offices, THPOs and organizations like United International Indigenous Nations for updates. Contact our Attorney General and International Lawyer @ Admin@unitedinternationalindigneousnationsuiin.org 253-652-2711 ext 800

Sources:

Block Club Chicago “Chicago National Archives Closure Will Be Loss For Historians, Researchers, Deep-Sea Divers” (July 6 2026): https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/07/06/chicago-national-archives-closure-will-be-loss-for-historians-researchers-even-deep-sea-divers/

KQED “Exclusive: The Bay Areas National Archives Office Is Closing. Researchers Are Worried” (June 26 2026): https://www.kqed.org/news/12088904/exclusive-the-bay-areas-national-archives-office-is-closing-researchers-are-worried

Hoodline “Chicago National Archives Closing Makes Research Harder” (citing Chicago Tribune reporting): https://hoodline.com/2026/07/chicago-s-history-packed-up-as-feds-prepare-national-archives-exit-6968820/

Densho, “Densho Opposes Plans to Close National Archives Facilities in Chicago and San Bruno”: https://densho.org/catalyst/densho-opposes-plans-to-close-national-archives-facilities-chicago-san-bruno/

Organization of American Historians letter to Acting Archivist of the United States (July 20 2026): https://www.oah.org/2026/07/20/oah-sends-letter-of-concern-to-acting-aotus-about-announced-regional-nara-closures/

Turtle Talk “Planned Closure of NARA Regional Archives”: https://turtletalk.blog/ (also mirrored at https://www.michigantoplawyers.com/planned-closure-of-nara-regional-archives-turtle-talk/)

California Genealogical Society “Call to Action: Save Our National Archives!”: https://www.californiaancestors.org/call-to-action-save-our-national-archives/

National Archives, Record Group 75 (Bureau of Indian Affairs records): https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/bia

National Archives, Native American Heritage. BIA School Records: https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/schools

Bureau of Indian Affairs Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative: https://www.bia.gov/service/tribal-consultations/indian-boarding-school-initiative