Links For Native American History
Term Paper Resource Guide to American Indians
A good place to start researching American Indians. This online book has 100 broad subjects concerning American Indians and each subject has a number of suggested topics for research papers. Each subject heading includes an annotated bibliography which describes readily available primary, secondary and Internet sources.
The Invasion of America
This interactive map shows the process of Native land cessions from 1776 to the present. You can click on any cession and (if available) there is a link to the original treaty. You might also want to look at the accompanying youtube video or some other useful maps of Native America. Another source for maps is Native Land. This is an interesting interactive and multilayered map that shows where Native peoples historically lived.
Treaties and Laws
Oklahoma State has digitized the first three volumes of Charles J. Kappler’s seven volume Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. This searchable database includes the laws pertaining to Native Americans through December 1, 1913 and treaties between the American government and Native peoples from 1778 – 1883.You might also look at, Treaties with Native Americans Part of the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School. This site includes full-text of about 30 treaties made between the US government and different Indian tribes between 1778 and 1868. You might also look at American Indian Treaties Portal.
ACC Multicultural History
A good place to start your research by looking through ACC resources and contacting librarians who are experts in the field.
Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center
Digitized items include official school records and materials from the BIA; official student records, photographs, letters and copies of school publications including The Indian Helper.
Search Google Books for primary sources
For example:The Old Indian Chronicle: Being A Collection of Rare Tracts, Published in the Time of King Philip’s War, By People Residing in the Country
A compilation of writings by people observing the events of King Philip’s War; Memoirs of the Reverend David Brainerd: Missionary to the Indians, on the Borders of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Presbyterian minister David Brainerd kept a record of daily Indian life; Diary of the Siege of Detroit in the War withPontiac, This diary helps understand the British point of view in Pontiac’s War.
NativeWeb
One of the best places to start when researching topics concerning Native Americans and indigenous peoples around the world.
Indians of the Midwest
The Newberry Library is one of the great repositories in the country. This site is divided into 8 sections: People, Places & Time; The Homeland & Its Use; The Marketplace:Treaties; Identities; Property; Indian Imagery; and Are Midwest Indians Typical? You can also email a question and their experts will respond. Also at the Newberry Library is cross-searchable site with American Indian Histories and Cultures which is cross searchable with the American West. You can find primary documents, maps, essays, chronologies and more.
Indian Converts Collection
Thomas Mayhew’s 1727 book, Indian Converts, of Some account of the lives anbd dying speeches of a considerable number of the Christianized Indians of Martha’s Vineyard, in New England, is now online. This searchable work provides insights into the lives and culture of four generations of Natives. The site also has over 600 images and documents that give Mayhew’s work a more complete context.
The People’s Paths Home Page
A wealth of information on this large page.
Native American Sites
Lisa Mitten has put together one of the more useful Indian resources sites. The page is sensibly organized and a useful place to begin research.
Jordan S. Dill’s Site
A large and useful site alphabetically arranged.
Native American Links
Another very large site. Categories of links include maps, Powwows, genealogy, tribes, biographies, history, personal homepages, and others.
Fourth World Documentation Project
Search the documents prepared by the Center for World Indigenous Studies for information about the social, political, economic and human rights issues concerning indigenous peoples around the world.
Index of Native American History Resources
Another very good place to start when researching Native American topics. The site includes oral history links, timelines, images, and divides other Native links by geographical location.
Thanksgiving
From the Plimoth Plantation: The Living History Museum of 17th Century Plymouth. The site includes lists of guests, recipes, and a number of interesting facts about the first Thanksgiving
Tribal Names
Curious as to what Indian tribal names mean and why they are so named? This site also lists alternative names for tribes which can be useful when researching a specific group.
National Museum of the American Indian
The Smithsonian’s exhibitions are always worth a look. One Smithsonian exhibit of particular interest is Lakota Winter Counts. These beautiful and fascinating histories/calendars record events with pictures, with one picture for each year. The site includes other introductory materials about the Lakota and interviews with contemporary Lakota.
North American Indian Periodicals List
Magazines, journals, papers, newsletters and more. Journals such as Indian Country Today maintain websites with a lot of information on them. Make sure to follow the links to “North American Indian Publications” which lists online publications.
Paths to Changing News
Lists online native newspapers and newsletters. There are also non-Indian news sources that deal with Native American issues. This is an excellent resource for keeping up with current events concerning American Indians.
Indian Land Sessions in the US
Part of the Library of Congress American Memory Collection, this site contains descriptions and maps of Indian land cessions from 1784 to 1894. It is searchable by tribe, state, or date.
Indian Gaming
The National Indian Gaming Association maintains this site which includes current events and a variety of resources concerning Tribal community development. You might also find this pathfinder on Indian gaming to be useful.
Omaha Indian Heritage
An effort by the University of Nebraska to preserve Omaha heritage. This site has online texts, photographs and
artifacts.
Pocahontas Archive
Lehigh University maintains this very interesting site. The annotated bibliography is probably the most useful part of this site, but the images, essays and other links are also valuable.
Rock Art Pages
Beautiful site where you can explore the diversity of rock art.
Open Anthropology
The online public journal of the American Anthropological Association. Thematic issues that include recent and older articles concerning a particular topic. NOVA:Dawn of Humanity has interesting anthropological and archeological information.
Short Documentaries of interest
The New York Times has several interesting short documentaries including The Last Fluent Speaker of Wukchumni and a documentary about Germany’s fascination with American Natives especially a fictional Apache character created by Karl May. Dakota 38 is good documentary on the 38 Dakota men who were hanged in the largest mass execution in the US. For further information on this topic you might want to look at: The U.S. Dakota War of 1862.
American Journeys
A good place to find primary documents dealing with early North American explorations. The site has more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts that range from 1000 CE to 1800s.
Son of the South
A useful site for general information on topics related to Natives. It is especially valuable for the information on Spanish Missions in Texas. Make sure to look at the links form the History of Texas page.
Patriot Nations
Natives peoples have made valuable contributions to the US military since 1775. Text and photographs on this site acknowledge Native service.
Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal
A useful “gateway to Plateau peoples’s cultural materials held in multiple repositories.” This site provides access to 100s of images, historical documents and audio and video recordings concerning 8 different peoples from the Plateau and Pacific Northwest.