Library Guides: Native American History and Studies: Primary Sources

Pacific Northwest Native Americans

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest
Digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by essays about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics.
Burke Museum Northwest Coast Art Collection
Includes Chilkat weavings, bentwood boxes, mountain sheep horn bowls, spindle whorls, dance masks, drums, button blankets, and frontlets.
Frank Fuller Avery Image Collection
This site has over 800 images of the Colville Indian Agency taken between 1901 - 1916.
The Pacific Northwest Olympic Peninsula Community Museum
Online exhibits, image archive, and education resources.
The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
A multi-media index documenting the histories of various Seattle civil rights movements.
Tacoma Community History Project
Online collection of oral histories of local residents gathered by students in the UW Tacoma "Doing Community History" class, which includes collection of oral histories with Native Americans in the region.
Washington Tribes
Information relating to the 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington State, including a map showing their locations.

After Columbus: Four-hundred Years of Native American Portraiture
Over 350 prints and drawings of Native Americans spanning 400 years, from the New York Public Library.
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School
Full-text of treaties between the U.S. and Native Americans dating back to 1778 until the 19th century.
Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian
A 20 volume photograph collection, published between 1907 and 1930, picturing and describing Indigenous people of North America.
Indigenous Law Web Archive
Library of Congress's preserved collection of primary law sources of Indigenous nations, which are sovereign governments by treaty with the United States.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
Major database of historic photographs, government documents, pamphlets, etc. from the Library of Congress.
Living Nations, Living Worlds
Audio recordings of 47 contemporary Native American poets reading and discussing original work, part of Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s “Living Nations, Living Words” signature project.
National Museum of the American Indian
Large searchable digital collections of photographs and artifacts, made available from the Smithsonian.
Native American Constitutions and Legal Materials
A variety of Native American legal materials held by the Library of Congress.
More Primary Sources
For more primary sources, check out the Native American History guide created by Teresa Mudrock, History Librarian for the UW Libraries.

C. Hart Merriam Collection of Native American Photographs, ca. 1890-1938
Digital version of the original manuscript documenting the Native Americans in and around California from 1890-1938.
California State University Native American Documents Project
Government documents from 1871-1876 covering the Rogue River War, Siletz Reservation development, and California tribes.
The Dorothy Hill Collection
A digital collection of photos, audio, video, and field notes describing the cultural history of the Native Americans of Northern California.
First Nation Collection
Digitized government documents, Native language dictionaries, and other documents from the southern Oregon and northern California region.
Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains
Primarily photographs, some drawings and paintings of the Native Peoples of Montana.
Richard Throssel Papers
2,481 photographs, taken by field photographer Richard Throssel of daily life, ceremonies, portraits and village scenes of the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes; ranching; and scenery of southern Montana and northern Wyoming (1902-ca. 1920s).
The Russian Church and Native Alaskan Cultures
Manuscripts and photographs about the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and Native Alaskans.

The Duke Collection of American Indian Oral History
Typescripts of interviews (1967 -1972) conducted with hundreds of Indians in Oklahoma regarding the histories and cultures of their respective nations and tribes.
Voices from the Trading Post
More than 40 interviews with members of the United Indian Traders Association based in New Mexico.

New York State Library Native American Materials
Original manuscripts and published accounts of first hand descriptions of the Native American experience in New York. These resources span four centuries, beginning with the Dutch colony of New Netherland and continuing to the close of the American frontier in western New York and beyond.

Ayer Ojibwa Collection
Photographs of Ojibwa arts and crafts from the Minnesota Historical Society.
The Black Hawk War
Extensive collection of images, government documents, and first-hand narratives depicting the Black Hawk War of 1832.
The Dakota Conflict Trials of 1862
Documentation and images describing the execution of 38 Sioux people at Mankato, Minnesota on December 26, 1862.
Great Plains People
Over 1,500 photo images of Native Americans in the Midwest.
Omaha Indian Heritage
Online texts, photos, artifacts and other information about the Omaha Tribe.
Omaha Indian Music
Part of the Library of Congress American Memory Project, this site contains traditional Omaha music from the 1890s-1980s. Also includes correspondence, essays, and photos from the 1983 Pow Wow, and 1985 concert.
Plains Indians Ledger Art
The history behind and digitization of a unique genre of Plains drawing, on paper created during the 1860-1900 period.

Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842
Over 2,000 documents and images dating from 1730 to 1842 on the history of Native Americans in the Southeastern U.S., letters, legal proceedings, military orders, and more.
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
More than 900 interviews with Native Americans including Seminoles, Cherokees, and Creeks; from the University of Florida's digital collection.