Native Art, History & Culture: Images

Campus Library Native Art Collection

Most of the pieces in the Campus Library collection are part of the "Rose Collection." These works were selected and donated by Norman Jenisch and Louise R. Rose. The Roses have collected the work of Alaskan and Northwest Native artists for more than ten years, including works specifically for display in the Campus Library. The students, faculty and staff are grateful to the Roses for their continuing generosity and for the warmth and beauty that these pieces bring to our campus. To explore the collection online take the Campus Library art tour.

Image: "Killer Whale Rattle" by Fred Beltran.

UW Digital Collections: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest

The UW Libraries Digital Collections provides an extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics. These cultures have occupied, and in some cases still live in parts of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Maps are available that show traditional territories or reservation boundaries. You can explore the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection online.

Image: Chilkat dancers pose in ceremonial dress with wood carvings, Alaska, 1895

The Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture: Ethnology

The Burke Museum's Ethnology Division cares for objects of cultural heritage from living cultures of the Americas, the Pacific Islands, and Asia. The museum is particularly renowned for its collections of Native American art and artifacts. Explore the collections online.

Image: Chilkat Blanket

National Museum of the American Indian

"A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world's most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego." Click below for NMAI's "5 years in 4 minutes" video or explore the collections online.

Image Databases

The image databases listed here are some of the largest, highest-quality image databases available. All have extensive coverage of visual materials relevant to multiple disciplines.

Artstor This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Search over one million digital images in the fields of the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences.
Beginning August 1st, 2024, ARTstor will go away and content will be available exclusively at JSTOR.

Flickr
Millions of photographs uploaded by users. In Advanced Search, choose Creative Commons licenses for reusable images. Explore The Commons for images contributed by institutions.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC)
Library of Congress's photographic collections, including Brady-Handy presidential portraits, daguerreotypes, Farm Security Administration photographs, National Photo Company early 20th-century photos of D.C., and more.
LIFE photo archive
Millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.
New York Public Library (NYPL) Digital Gallery
Over 700,000 images digitized from primary sources and print rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including photographs, maps, manuscripts, and prints.
Smithsonian Collections
Images from the Smithsonian's museums and archives. Over 500,000 images of animals, arts, culture, plants, maps, and more.