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Indians/Native Americans

This page contains links to American history relating to Native Americans.

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During November we celebrate Native American/Alaskan Native Heritage Month. Check out these statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as the reference links below.

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• NARA Resources
• National Park Service Resources
• Digital Collections
• Genealogical Resources
• Historical Background
• Laws and Treaties
• Tribal Resources

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NARA Resources

American Indians: Select Catalog of NARA Microfilm Publications

Microfilm publications of NARA collections from records relating to American Indians, including records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, census rolls, and treaties relating to territories.
To search the catalog:

1. From the main Microfilm Catalog page, click Advanced Search (next to the Search button)
2. In the right hand column, under Subject Catalog, select "American Indians"
3. Hit "Search"

Index to the Applications Submitted for the Eastern Cherokee Roll of 1909 (Guion Miller Roll)

The index includes the names of all persons applying for compensation arising from the judgment of the United States Court of Claims on May 28, 1906, for the Eastern Cherokee tribe.

Index to the Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory (Dawes)

This is the index to the names of individuals entitled to enrollment on the rolls of the various tribes comprising the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

Indian Census Rolls

NARA's web site features microfilm publications of Census information for American Indians.

List of Indian presents purchased by Meriwether Lewis

The NARA's Expansion and Reform (1801-1861) exhibit displaying the full text lists of purchases made on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Native American Records

Links to finding aids and records of Native Americans in the National Archives.

NHPRC: Grants to Oklahoma, FY 1976-1999

NARA's Historical Publications and Records Commission's compiled list of federal grants to tribes of Oklahoma and Oklahoma publications projects.

Records in the National Archives--Pacific Sierra Region for the Study of Ethnic History

A finding aid for the location and use of records pertaining to Native Americans and Americans of minority descent.

Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Record Group 75, from the Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives & Records Administration.

"Semper Fidelis, Code Talkers"

The winter 2001 issue of Nara's Prologue publication features an article on the Navajo "code talkers" used by the Marine Corps in WWII. The original twenty-nine Navajo code talkers received the Congressional Gold Medal for their wartime contributions in maintaining an unbreakable code. The "code talkers" work is told in the movie Windtalkers.

Snakes & Scribes: The Dawes Commission and the Enrollment of the Creeks

This article by Kent Carter appeared in the Spring 1997 issue of NARA's publication, Prologue.

Teaching with Documents Lesson Plan: Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians

This NARA site features a Memorandum regarding the enlistment of Navajo Indians by the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII.

Teaching with Documents Lesson Plan: Maps of Indian Territory, the Dawes Act, and Will Rogers' Enrollment Case File

This NARA site features a history of the Dawes Act, which allowed the President to divide commonly-held tribal reservation land into small individually-allotted parcels.

"Thus Spoke Chief Seattle: The story of an undocumented speech"
(Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives & Records Administration)

An analysis of an Indian chief's oration, supposedly spoken in 1855, and dealing with the "woes and wrongs done to American Indians."

Treaty of 1868

From a NARA online exhibit, this web page presents the 1868 treaty recognizing the Black Hill as part of the Great Sioux Reservation.

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National Park Service Resources

Ancient Architects of the Mississippi

Information about the Mississippi societies that flourished throughout the Southeastern part of North America from 800 C.E. to the time of European contact.

Beyond Compliance: Tribes of the Southwest
CRM, Volume 23, Number 9, 2000

Online version of the National Park Service article on tribes of the Southwest U.S. published in a special CRM issue dedicated to Indians.

Bureau of Indian Affairs
CRM, Volume 22, Number 4, 1999

Donald Sutherland writes a history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in this article for the National Park Service.

Ethnic Heritage: American Indian

The National Park Service's list of over 70 Historical Parks with ties to American Indian cultural history.

National Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

The NAGPRA is a federal law passed in 1990 that provides a process by which museums and federal agencies return certain Native American cultural items to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.

Tribal Preservation Program

This National Park Service site is dedicated to helping tribes preserve their cultural heritage. Includes information on grants and funding, publications, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, training programs, and tribal web sites.

Two Views of the World
CRM, Volume 16, Special Issue, 1993

Sally Thompson Greiser and T. Weber Greiser take an in depth look at the cultural difficulties preserving sacred Native American sites.

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Digital Collections

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest

A 1998 American Memory Collection Library of Congress/Ameritech Award Winner site. This site illustrates many aspects of life and work for the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, in over 2,300 photographs and 7,700 pages of text.

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Digital Collection

This University of Washington site provides "an extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by essays, maps, bibliographies, and links.

Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian: Photographic Images

Over 1500 illustrations and 700 portfolio plates captured by the Library of Congress Memory Project. This is Edward S. Curtis's portrayal of the traditional customs and life ways of eighty Indian tribes.

George Catlin and His Indian Gallery: Highlights from the Exhibition

The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum has this George Catlin exhibit up until the end of January, 2003. Catlin spent his life recording the customs and cultures of Native American tribes, and lobbying to protect their way of life.

History of the American West, 1860-1920

A 1997 American Memory Collection Library of Congress/Ameritech Award Winner site. Over 30,000 photographs, drawn from the holdings of the Western History and Genealogy Department at Denver Public Library, illuminate many aspects of the history of the American West. Most photographs were taken between 1860-1920; they illustrate Colorado towns and landscape, and show the lives of Native Americans from more than forty tribes living west of the Mississippi River.

President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal'

Look under "Milestone Documents" for the link to this page. It features President Andrew Jackson's December 6, 1830, message calling for the relocation of eastern Native American tribes to land west of the Mississippi River, in order to open new land for settlement by citizens of the United States.

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Genealogical Resources

Genealogical Research for Native Americans

This "Encyclopedia Smithsonian" page offers a recommended reading list to trace one's Native American ancestry.

Cyndi's List: Native American

From Cyndi's List, a nearly comprehensive coverage of the genealogical and historical links relating to Native American heritage.

American Indian Tribal Directory

Federally recognized tribes are included on this site.

Introduction to Native American Genealogy

From the State Historical Society of Missouri, an introduction to available records.

Native American Genealogy

A free genealogy web site that includes links to searchable online databases, tribal registers, registration rolls, and more.

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Historical Background

American Indian History and Related Issues

This comprehensive list of American Indian web sites starts out with a number of sites on the history of the Hopi Indians and Alcatraz, the nation's first permanent military prison.

American Indians/Native Americans

University of Louisville libraries have compiled a list of Native American Indian sites in subjects that include: Bureau of Indian Affairs, census information, civil rights, health, history, military, treaties, tribes, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Legends of our Times: Native Ranching and Rodeo Life on the Plains and Plateau

A cooperative site of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian and the Canadian Museum of Civilization, this site complements a traveling exhibit exploring the complex relationships between North American Plains Indians and the horse, dog, and buffalo.

Native American History and Culture

This "Encyclopedia Smithsonian" site includes links to Native American Resources, Selected Exhibitions, and Recommended Reading on the history and culture of Native Americans.

Native American Women

A virtual guide through everyday life for the Western American Indian woman, compiled by the Denver Public Library.

National Museum of the American Indian

Web site for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Resources include national events calendar, museum information and Native Networks, a developing interactive source of Native American cultural information on the web.

Marin Indian Museum of the American Indian

This site focuses on the California Coast Miwoks.

National Museum of the American Indian-New York

NMAI Conexus is a Smithsonian web site devoted to Native cultures, presenting some of the many public programs, special events, visiting Native artists, and museum exhibitions from the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.

Traders: Voices from the Trading Post

This site from the Northern Arizona University Special Collections Department covers a history of trading post, oral history interviews, and the goods and services offered at trading posts in the American West. Oral interviews focus on trading posts in Navajo and Hopi reservations.

Who Stole the Teepee?

This Smithsonian site explores the influence of U.S. culture on Native American traditions and beliefs.

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Laws and Treaties

Indian Affairs: Laws & Treaties

Edited by Charles Kappler, this seven-volume set is a compilation of U.S. laws, treaties, and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes, covering the years 1778 to 1970.

Indian Bounty Land Applications

A Fall 1993 article from the NARA publication, Prologue, by Mary Frances Morrow.

Native American Legal Resources

(University of Oklahoma College of Law)
Highlights of these resources include the American Indian Law Review and the Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project.

Relations between the United States and Native Americans

From the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School, this site includes treaties and laws relating to Native Americans.

United States: Native Americans

The Law Library of Congress provides a listing of valuable Indian Treaties, judicial decisions, U.S. Codes, and lawmaking agendas relating to Native American history.

Treaty of 1868

From a NARA online exhibit, this web page presents the 1868 treaty recognizing the Black Hill as part of the Great Sioux Reservation.

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Tribal Resources

American Indian Tribes in the Northern Plains Region

This USDA sponsored page lists links, career information, accomplishments, civil rights, Geographic Information Systems, Natural Resource Assessments, and news relating to the Northern Plains Indian Tribes. This is searchable by tribal name or state.

Beyond Compliance: Tribes of the Southwest
CRM, Volume 23, Number 9, 2000

This article by Frank Matero describes the process of historical preservation for Native American Ancestral Sites.

First Nations Seeker

A portal, with directory and links to North American Indian web sites.

Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains: Online Image Database

Images of the Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains is a searchable online photograph database created with grant support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant Program.

Native American Resources

RootsWeb provides a listing of Native American genealogical resources. Historically significant documents, maps, and primary sources are provided under general and tribal listings.

Office of American Indian Trust

The U.S. Department of the Interior's branch the Office of American Indian Trust handles tribal entitlements to land and resources. This site provides statistical and historical information on tribal land. Maps of tribal land, FAQ's about Native American culture, links to cultural, environmental, and government resources are all provided.

Tribal Preservation Program

This National Park Service site is dedicated to helping tribes preserve their cultural heritage. Includes information on grants and funding, publications, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, training programs, and tribal web sites.

United States Department of the Interior Indian Affairs

Official home page for the Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. Information on tribal governments and inter-tribal organizations, treaties, and Indian culture is provided.

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