For historical research, the phrase "primary sources" refers to items that were created at the time an event occurred usually by direct observers or participants. Primary sources are not limited to traditional text-based documents such as newspaper articles and journal entries; photographs, posters, audio recordings, video clips, books, and more can all serve as primary sources if they are used as evidence of the time in which they were created. It's not about the source type...it's about how the source is used for your research.
This digital archive highlights the impact of invasion and colonization on Indigenous Peoples in North America, and the intersection of Indigenous and European histories and systems of knowledge through the use of manuscripts, monographs, newspapers, photographs, motion pictures, images of artwork, and more.
This collection of records available through the library's Ancestry.com subscription includes documents such as the U.S., Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; U.S., Census Records and Cherokee Muster Rolls, 1835-1838; U.S., Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation Rolls, 1848-1970; U.S., Ratified Indian Treaties and Chiefs, 1722-1869; and more!
This project is meant to tell "the stories of the American Indian children who attended Genoa, the stories of their communities, and the stories of their descendants." Currently it includes government records from both federal and state archives such as letters, applications, student records, receipts, and more. According to the website, "The school enrolled thousands of children from over forty Indian nations during its fifty years of operation from 1884 to 1934."
This database strives to be a comprehensive collection of digital resources documenting the history of the Carlisle Indian School (CIS) with records from both the U.S. National Archives and partner organizations. It includes student records, images, publications (e.g. newspapers, magazines, pamphlets), documents (e.g. correspondence, ephemera), and more. According to the website, "Tens of thousands of young people from Indian communities all across America were sent to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania between 1879-1918."
"The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) has one of the most extensive collections of Native American arts and artifacts in the world—approximately 266,000 catalog records (825,000 items) representing over 12,000 years of history and more than 1,200 indigenous cultures throughout the Americas." In addition to over 130,000 objects, this online collection includes over 27,000 archival documents.
"The National Anthropological Archives collects and preserves historical and contemporary anthropological materials that document the world’s cultures and the history of anthropology. The NAA was formed in 1968, but the foundations of its collections can be traced to the founding of the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1879 and early anthropological research at the Smithsonian (as early as 1846)."
"The Native Northeast Portal contains primary source materials by, on, or about Northeast Indians from repositories around the world. Documents are digitized, transcribed, annotated, reviewed by the appropriate contemporary descendant community representatives, and brought together with scholarly annotations and academic/community commentary into one edited interactive digital collection."
"As a collection of general Americana, the Newberry’s Edward E. Ayer Collection is one of the best in the country and one of the strongest collections on American Indians in the world.... Featured here is a selection of more than 65,000 digitized images and texts from the Ayer materials."
"The Duke Collection of American Indian Oral History online provides access to typescripts of interviews (1967 -1972) conducted with hundreds of Indians in Oklahoma regarding the histories and cultures of their respective nations and tribes. Related are accounts of Indian ceremonies, customs, social conditions, philosophies, and standards of living."
"The Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, located in north central Oklahoma, operated from 1884 -1980 as one of a handful of federal off-reservation Indian boarding schools in the United States. Thousands of students passed through the school's iconic entryway arch during its nearly century-long existence. Even today, Chilocco continues to be a powerful site for memory for its remaining alumni from over 127 tribes, as well as the Native peoples, directly or indirectly impacted by its history and scholars and students throughout the world who seek to understand its role within the larger context of U.S. Indian boarding schools. This oral history project features over 40 oral history interviews conducted with the school's alumni and military veterans."
As part of C-SPAN's "Oral Histories," historian and filmmaker George Colburn's interviews with six Navajo Code Talkers and their family members were featured in early 2019. In addition to including segments of the interviews themselves, this site includes discussions with Colburn.
"The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Digital Collection includes the digital holdings of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) at the University of Florida.... The collection contains [transcripts for] more than 900 interviews with Native Americans including Seminoles, Cherokees, and Creeks."
The American Indian Digital History Project is "a Digital History Cooperative founded to recover and preserve rare Indigenous newspapers, photographs, and archival materials from all across Native North America." It includes issues of The American Indian Magazine, Indian Voice, Honga: The Leader, and Akwesasne Notes, as well as documents from the Santee Normal Training School and Treaties.
This collection provides full-text access to a wide range of primarily U.S.-based newspaper titles from the 19th-21st centuries including the Atlanta Constitution (1868 - 1984), Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1993), Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1993), New York Times (1851 - 2013), Wall Street Journal (1889 - 2000), Washington Post (1877 - 2000), and more!
Atlanta Constitution (1868 - 1984) Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003) Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988) Baltimore Sun (1837-1992) Boston Globe (1872 - 1985) Chicago Defender (1909-1975) Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1993) Christian Science Monitor (1908 - 2004) Globe and Mail (1844-2014) Irish Times (1859 - 2016) Louisville Courier (1830 - 2000) Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1993) Minneapolis Tribune (1867 - 2001) New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) New York Times (1851 - 2013) U.S, Northeast Collection (1785 - 2010) Some issues for 1953, 1962-1963, 1965, 1978 were never published due to pressman's strikes. No Sunday issue was published until April 21, 1861. New York Tribune (1841-1962) Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002) South China Morning Post (1903-1998) Times of India (1838-2008) Wall Street Journal (1889 - 2000) Washington Post (1877 - 2000)
This full-text database from Gale includes both major newspapers from the nineteenth century as well as those published by African Americans, Native Americans, women's rights groups, labor groups, the Confederacy, and other groups and interests.
With digital facsimile images of both full pages and clipped articles for hundreds of 19th century U.S. newspapers and advanced searching capabilities, researchers will be able to research history in ways previously unavailable. For each issue, the newspaper is captured from cover-to-cover, providing access to every article, advertisement and illustration. No overlap with America’s Historical Newspapers.
"The Anthropological Papers, published continuously since 1907, are monographic volumes that include some of the great ethnographies of the 20th century, particularly on North American Indians."
HathiTrust provides full-text access to millions of public domain titles found in library collections around the world, many of which serve as primary accounts of events and topics throughout history.
"The American Libraries collection includes material contributed from across the United States. Institutions range from the Library of Congress to many local public libraries. As a whole, this collection of material brings holdings that cover many facets of American life and scholarship into the public domain." Note: You may need to create a free account to borrow materials
Government Documents and Publications
–––Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs–––
The Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs describe the interactions between American Indian tribes and the federal government and provide insight into how the government viewed these relationships.
The Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs describe the interactions between American Indian tribes and the federal government and provide insight into how the government viewed these relationships.
–––Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology–––
"The Smithsonian’s Bureau of Ethnology (renamed the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1897) was established in 1879.... The Bureau became the official repository for material and collections relating to American Indians, including those artifacts collected on federal surveying and collecting expeditions to the American West."
"The Smithsonian’s Bureau of Ethnology (renamed the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1897) was established in 1879.... The Bureau became the official repository for material and collections relating to American Indians, including those artifacts collected on federal surveying and collecting expeditions to the American West."
This report from the 1850s was compiled by Henry R. Schoolcraft under the direction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as an ethnological study considering the numbers, conditions, history and culture of American Indian tribes.
This report from 1928 was commissioned by the Institute of Government Research to compile information on the conditions of reservations and Indian boarding schools across the country. In addition to providing a detailed narrative, the report includes statistics and data that are critical of the Department of the Interior's policies as well as the overall conditions faced by American Indians at the hands of the U.S. government. The report contains chapters on health, education, economics, family, and more.
"Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII)."
Digital Collections
