PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIALS ON NATIVE AMERICANS are listed below. These are scholarly works published by the U.S. Government beginning in the early 1800's. All are cataloged and can be located by searching the Library Catalog or by using print indexes to government documents.

THE FOLLOWING ARE SELECTIVE LISTS OF TITLES that are representative of the resources found in the collection. The lists include both background information (secondary sources that are sometimes excellent finding aids to primary sources) and primary source materials (for example, the texts of treaties, laws, and statutes). Online sources are given when they provide parallel material.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, please ask at the Reference Desk (1st Floor North) or request assistance online via Ask A Librarian.

General index:
Annual Report Of The Bureau Of American Ethnology: General Index (1933)   top
DOCS/US  SI 2.1:1930-1931 CATALOG RECORD

The Annual Reports were published from 1879 to 1931 and are a series of scholarly treatises published by the Smithsonian Institution on Indian Tribes. Pollak Library owns most of the Annual Reports (DOCS/US SI 2.1:). The GENERAL INDEX to the annual reports was published as the 48th Annual Report and indexes volumes 1-48. An INDEX also appears at the back of each volume. The Annual Reports published after 1930 are very brief overviews of field research. Pollak Library owns the 50th (1932-33), 77th (1959-60), 78th (1960-61), 79th (1961-62), 80th (1962-63), and 81st (1963-64).

Index to Bulletins 1-100 of the Bureau of American Ethnology: With Index to Contributions to North American Ethnology, Introductions, and Miscellaneous Publications (1963) 
DOCS/US  SI 2.3:178 CATALOG RECORD

This Bulletin was published in 1963 to index several collections of Smithsonian publications: Bulletins 1-100 (DOCS/US 2.3:), Contributions to North American Ethnology (DOCS/US SI 1.33:), and Smithsonian Miscellaneous Publications (DOCS/US   SI 1.7:).

CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, 1789-1969 
DOCS/US  Y 1.1/2:C 74* CATALOG RECORD  
[Note: Shelved at the end of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set]

See SUBJECT INDEX to find references to American State Papers, Senate Journals, Senate Documents, House Journals, and House Documents. Pollak Library's holdings of U.S. Serial Set prior to 1961 are incomplete (see stacks for holdings). The Library of Congress has made a digitized version of the Serial Set available online - see American Memory below.

Online: American Memory: United States Congressional Serial Set [Library of Congress]
The Library of Congress provides a digitized version of the Serial Set for the years 1789-1873. The United States Congressional Serial Set began publication with the 15th Congress, 1st session (1817). Documents of the first fourteen Congresses were published as the American State Papers. The Serial Set contains the House and Senate Documents and the House and Senate Reports. The reports are usually from congressional committees dealing with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. Hearings are generally published separately. The documents include all other papers ordered printed by the House or Senate. Documents cover a wide variety of topics and may include reports of executive departments and independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental organizations. Coverage is 1st Congress - 42d Congress (1789-1873).

CIS Index to Publications of the United States Congress (1970-date)      top
CIS INDEX TABLES  Y 4.CIS: CATALOG RECORD
[Note: Shelved on the CIS INDEX TABLES, 3d Floor North)]
This begins in 1970 and indexes House and Senate hearings, reports, prints, documents, special publications, Senate executive reports, and Senate executive documents. Pollak Library owns many of these in print. Starting with the 100th Congress (1987), each title in the Serial Set that Pollak Library owns in print has been cataloged separately and can be located by  title or subject searches. In addition, all hearings from 1970-to-date are available on microfiche. Beginning in 1990 (101st Congress, 2d Session), Pollak Library owns the complete microfiche collection.

Guide to  American Indian Documents in the Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1899 (1977)       top
REFERENCE  KF8201 .A1 J63 CATALOG RECORD
This is a finding guide for House and Senate documents and reports published in the Serial Set from the 15th through the 55th Congresses (1817-1899). Arrangement is chronological. SUBJECT INDEX. Pollak Library's holdings of U.S. Serial Set prior to 1961 are incomplete (see stacks for holdings). The full text of the documents and reports may be available at the Library of Congress web site American Memory: United States Congressional Serial Set (see description above).

Index to Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes of the United States (1954)
DOCS/US  SI 2.3:152 (Bulletin 152) CATALOG RECORD
Note: This title is bound with another title. The INDEX is the second title in the volume.
This indexes Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States (1851-57) (DOCS/US  I 20.2:In 2/) written by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who lived thirty years on the frontier and wrote six vothroughout America. Volume 1 has Census returns on the following Indian tribes: Iroquois, Algonquin, Dakota, and Appalachian. Each of the six volumes also has a detailed Table of Contents.

List of Publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology with Index to Authors and Titles (1971)
Online: List of Publications of the bureau of American Ethnology with Index to Authors and Titles
Print: DOCS/US SI 2.3:200 CATALOG RECORD
This is the last publication of the Bureau (in 1965 it merged with the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology) and gives lists of and indexes to the following from 1877-1971:
     Annual Reports, 1879-1965 (DOCS/US   SI 2.1:)
     Bulletins, 1887-1971(DOCS/US SI 2.3:)
     Contributions to North American Ethnology, 1877-1893 (DOCS/US I 17.5:)
     Miscellaneous Publications, 1880-1962 (DOCS/US SI 1.7:)

Native American issues: a reference handbook (2005)
6TH FLOOR SOUTH E98.T77 T56 2005 CATALOG RECORD

Statistics:   The American Community--American Indians and Alaksa Natives: 2004 (2007) PDF-24 pages

Statistics:   Minority Population Tops 100 Million (May 2007)
Statistical data on Native Americans with comparison data on African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Pacific Islanders.

Statistics:  Census Facts for Features: American Indians 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004     top
Current statistics on population, age, state and county distribution, families, education, homeownership, veteran status, language and employment.

Statistics:   American Factfinder: American Indian and Alaska Native Data and Links [Census Bureau]
Links to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

Statistics:    We the People: American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States (2006) PDF-23 pages
A portrait of the American Indian and Alaska native population in the United States, providing data on the largest specified tribal groupings, reservations, Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas (ANVSAs) and areas outside reservations and ANVSAs at the national level. It is part of a special report series that presents data collected from Census 2000 on demographic, social and economic characteristics.(Added 02/08/2006)

Statistics:  1881-1913:  Report of the Secretary of the Interior; being part of the Message and Documents communicated to the Two Houses of Congress
DOCS/US I 1.1: (1881-1913) CATALOG RECORD
Various subjects are covered in these reports. See INDEX of each volume for specific information. Of special note is 1892/v.2: front section is a discussion of Indian Affairs and back section has extensive statistics by subject and by tribe. CSUF owns various volumes from 1881-1913. Spine title: Messages and Documents.

  Bureau of Indian Affairs Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2005 [Dept. of Interior] (2006) PDF-181 pages
Introduction: "The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 provides performance and financial information that enables Congress, the President, and the public to assess the performance of the Bureau relative to its mission and stewardship of the resources entrusted to it."

Tiller's Guide to Indian Country : Economic Profiles of American Indian Reservations (2005)
REFERENCE E93 .T55 2005 CATALOG RECORD
Economic information on each of the American Indian tribes arranged by tribe name. Geographical Index.

Annual Report Of The Bureau Of American Ethnology (1879-1931)
DOCS/US SI 2.1: CATALOG RECORD
Published from 1879 till 1931, this is a series of scholarly treatises published by the Smithsonian Institution on Indian Tribes. An INDEX appears at the back of each volume. The GENERAL INDEX was published as the 48th Annual Report and indexes volumes 1-48 (DOCS/US  SI 2.1:1930-1931). Pollak Library also owns the 50th (1932-33), 77th (1959-60), 78th (1960-61), 79th (1961-62), 80th (1962-63), and 81st (1963-64) annual reports which are very brief overviews of field research during those years.

Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1824-1949)       top
Print: DOCS/US I 20.1: CATALOG RECORD
Microfiche: DOCS/FICHE/US I 20.1: CATALOG RECORD
Pollak Library owns several volumes of this title (title varies) in microfilm and print from 1824-1949. The annual reports were written by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and addressed to the Secretary of the Interior. Also included are the texts of reports and correspondence from Indian Agents, Territorial Governors, Military Officers, and Physicians and Teachers to the Commissioners. The reports are from all areas throughout the nation covering all Indian tribes, from California to New York to Colorado to New Mexico to Oregon.

Bulletin (Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology) (1887-1967)     top
DOCS/US  SI 2.3: CATALOG RECORD

The Bulletins cover a wide range of subjects. Pollak Library owns 174 Bulletins. A GENERAL INDEX to Bulletins 1-100 appears in Bulletin 178.  A few of special note are listed here:

Bulletin 30. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. This is an encyclopedic 2-volume work on Indian tribes, customs, rituals, and locations published originally in 1905. CSUF owns 1912 edition and 1959 edition.

Bulletin 60. Handbook of Aboriginal American Antiquities. This book gives a systematic presentation of archeological science and the progress of research at the time (1919), specifically dealing with race origins, migrations, culture evolution, chronology, and the use of stone.

Bulletin 78. Handbook of the Indians of California. This is an analysis of the many tribes living in California including Chumash, Paiute, and Shoshone.

Contributions to American Ethnology [U.S. Department of the Interior]    top
DOCS/US  SI 17.5: CATALOG RECORD
Pollak Library owns several of these scholarly reports on Native Americans written between 1881 and 1890. See the LIBRARY CATALOG or shelves for holdings.

Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and Warfare (2005)
REFERENCE E81 .E98 2005  CATALOG RECORD
Map of traditional tribal locations. Chapters: American Indians Prior to 1492. Warfare Terminology. Armies of Empire: Colonial, State, Federal, and Imperial Forces in the Indian Wars. War and Warfare. Wars and Warfare: Another View.

Handbook of North American Indians (1978-date)    top
REFERENCE  E77 .H25  CATALOG RECORD<
When it is completed, this 20-volume set from the Smithsonian Institution, started in 1978, will be the standard source of information on North American Indians. It gives an encyclopedic summary of what is known about the prehistory, history, and culture of the aboriginal peoples of North America. Volumes are not published in sequence. Bibliography citing primary sources at the end of each volume. An INDEX appears at end of each volume. A GENERAL INDEX will appear in Volume 20, when it is published. Volumes published as of 2002:

Volume 4: History of Indian-White Relations (1988). Basic reference work on the history of the interactions between the aboriginal people in North America and those arriving from Europe and Africa after 1492.

Volume 5: Arctic (1984). Indians living above the Arctic Circle (North Alaska, Bering Sea, and the Asian-Eskimo Zone), principally those of the Eskimo-Aleut language family.

Volume 6: Subarctic (1981). Indians living just below the Arctic Circle, including Subarctic Algonquin, Northern Athapaskan, Cree, Ojibwa, and Montagnias-Naskapi.

Volume 7: Northwest Coast (1990) Athapaskan, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Nootkans, and Chinookans.

Volume 8: California (1978) Tolowa, Yurok, Wiyot, Hupa, Chilula, Whilkut, Karok, Shastan, Miwok, Yokuts, Costanoan, Esselen, Chumash, Gabrielino and Serrano, and others.

Volume 9: Southwest (1979) Mogollon, Hohokam, Anasazi, Southern Athapaskan, Pueblo, Taos, Zuni, and Hopi.

Volume 10: Southwest (1983) Havasupai, Mohave, Maricopa, Papago, Pima, Yaqui, Apache, and Navajo.

Volume 11: Great Basin (1986) Shoshone, Bannock, Paiute, Kawaiisu, and Washoe.

Volume 12: Plateau (1998) Flathead, Yakima, Wasco, Nez Perce, Klamath, Modoc. Also includes special report on the Indian stick game.

Volume 13: Plains (2001) Hidatsa, Mandan, Arikara, Three Affiliated Tribes, Omaha, Ponca, Iowa, Otoe and Missouria, Kansa, Osage, Quapaw, Pawnee, Wichita, and Kitsai. Special Report on the Sun Dance, page 983. 2 volumes.

Volume 15: Northeast (1978) Abenaki, Narragansett, Delaware, Algonquin, Iroquois, Shawnee, Fox, Kickapoo, Illinois, Winnebago, Potawatami, Chippewa, and Ojibwa.

Volume 17: Languages (1996) Basic reference on the native languages of the North American continent.

Handbook of South American Indians (1963)       top
DOCS/US   SI 2.3:143/V.1-7 CATALOG RECORD
This 7-volume work was published as Bulletin Smithsonian Institution Bureau Of American Ethnology 143. CSUF owns volumes 1, 4, 6, and 7. There is extensive discussion of Indian tribes. Included are maps, photographs, and illustrations. V. 1: The marginal tribes. V. 2: The Andean civilizations. V.3: The tropical forest tribes. V. 4: The circum-Caribbean tribes. V. 5: The comparative ethnology of South American Indians. V. 6: Physical anthropology, linguistics, and cultural geography of South American Indians. V. 7: INDEX.  

Indians at Work (1933-1945)     top
DOCS/US   I 20.22: CATALOG RECORD
Internal newsletter published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1933-1945 consisting of reports from field workers describing educational and medical programs being introduced to Indian tribes throughout the United States. The first-hand reports give historical information, relating farming practices and family stories as told by the Indians, and contemporary information. Many articles highlight Native Americans' service in World War II. Photographs.

Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes (1998)      top
REFERENCE  E77 .G15 1998 v. 1-4
V. 1. Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean -- v. 2. Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America -- v. 3. Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau -- v. 4. California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands   

Navajo Yearbook (1951-1961)
DOCS/US  I 20.44: CATALOG RECORD 
Annual report of the progress achieved in carrying out the provisions of the Navajo-Hopi Long Range Rehabilitation Act (Public Law 474, 81st Congress). It discusses all programs conducted on the Navajo Reservation. The 1951-61 edition includes an 80-page document on the Navajo language and an extensive report on Navajo religion. The 1958 edition has statistical tables including population by reservation, population on- and off-reservation in 1950 & 1958, deaths by age and sex in 1957, leading causes of death in 1957, crimes, school enrollments and graduates, relocations, destinations of relocatees, and reasons given for return to reservation.

Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology (1965-date)      top
DOCS/US  SI 1.33: CATALOG RECORD
A GENERAL INDEX is contained in Bulletin No. 178 (DOCS/US  SI 2.3:178). Pollak Library owns various volumes in this series. Each volume has an extensive Table of Contents. See the LIBRARY CATALOG or stacks for complete holdings. Included in this collection is Volume 2 (DOCS/US  SI 1.33:2) with the following reports: No. 2: Early Skeletons from Tranquillity, California. No. 6: Notebook of a Cherokee Shaman. No. 9: Navajo Political Process. No. 27: Ceremonies of the Pawnee.

Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections (1862-1972)   top
DOCS/US  SI 1.7: CATALOG RECORD
This series covers a wide variety of subjects. Pollak Library owns many of the volumes but only a few that were written about Native Americans. Two of note are listed here. Search the LIBRARY CATALOG or check shelves for additional holdings.

The Aboriginal Population of America North of Mexico (1928)
DOCS/US  SI 1.7:80/7
Discussion of the populations of Indians in America including statistical tables by geographic area and by tribe. Estimates are given from the 1600's to about 1900.

TREATIES & LAWS--Background Sources      top

American Indian Law Deskbook (1998)
5th Floor South KF8205 .A76 1998  suppl. 2000  CATALOG RECORD

Federal Indian law policy: origins and legal development -- Indian, Indian tribe, and Indian country -- Indian and reservation lands -- Criminal law -- General civil-regulatory jurisdiction -- Civil-adjudicatory jurisdiction -- Tribal sovereign immunity and the Indian Civil Rights Act -- Indian reserved water rights -- Hunting and fishing regulation -- Environmental regulation -- Taxation in Indian country -- Indian lands gaming -- Indian Child Welfare Act -- State-tribal cooperate agreements.
 

American Indian Law Deskbook (1993)      top

REFERENCE KF8205 .A76 1993 CATALOG RECORD

Reference book on federal, state, and tribal relations. It is heavily footnoted with citations to public laws, statutes, Supreme Court cases, and additional primary source materials.

 

And Still the Waters Run (1996)
6th Floor South E78.I5 D28 CATALOG RECORD

Recounts the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from eastern states to Oklahoma. Bibliography on pages 392-402 lists government document sources.

 

Early California Laws and Policies Related to California Indians(2002) PDF-59 pages

Excerpt from executive summary: "The initial investigation and research contained in this report led to a focus on four examples of early State of California laws and policies that significantly impacted the California Indians’ way of life: · The 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians and related amendments; · California militia policies and "Expeditions against the Indians" during 1851 to 1859; · The State of California’s official response to federal treaties negotiated with California Indians during 1851 to 1852; and · Early and current state fish protection laws that exempt California Indians from related prohibitions".

History of Indian Policy (1973)      top
DOCS/US  I 20.2:H 62 CATALOG RECORD

History of the policies of the United States toward American Indians from the colonial period to 1970. It gives extensive background on treaties, statutes (including the General Allotment Act or Dawes Act of 1887), and tribal removals and relocations. Of special note are 1970 Census counts of American Indians by state, by county (foldout map), and by tribe.

The Permanent Indian Frontier: The Reason for the Construction and Abandonment of Fort Scott, Kansas, During the Dragoon Era: A Special History Study (1986)
DOCS/US  I 29.88/5:F 77 s CATALOG RECORD
Special study on Indian removal and relocation from the National Park Service.

Removal: Native American Bibliography [Central Michigan University]
Bibliography of sources on the United States government policy of removing the Indians from their land and sending them west of the Mississippi. Pollak Library may not own all of these publications.

TREATIES & LAWS--Primary Sources         top

Avalon Project at the Yale Law School (Yale)       top
The Avalon Project has mounted full-text digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government . Of special note: Treaties Between the United States and Native Americans, Relations Between the United States and Native Americans, and Statutes of the United States Concerning Native Americans.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 30 U.S. 1 (1831)      top
This is a Supreme Court decision in which Chief Justice John Marshall holds that an Indian tribe was neither a state in the Union nor a foreign nation within the meaning of the Constitution and, therefore, could not maintain an action in the Federal Courts. Upholds Indians' right to their land until title is voluntarily given to United States by treaty.

GPO Access: Databases [GPO ]
This Government Printing Office web site gives access to the full text of the following: Congressional bills 1993-date, Congressional documents 1995-date, Congressional Record 1994-date, Congressional Reports 1995-date, Federal Register 1994-date, public laws 1995-date, and U.S. Code, 1994. From this site, it is possible to search across multiple databases simultaneously.

Early Recognized Treaties with American Indian Nations
Intro: "The Oklahoma State University Library Electronic Publishing Center has digitized all of Kappler's volumes [3], but it is especially useful that the second volume on treaties has been converted, because this now affords easy access to those texts fashioned between 1778 and 1868. In the present collection, the texts of the nine remaining treaties, created between the years 1722 and 1805, are offered. These are the product of seven, early treaty events between a number of American Indian Nations and the British, and of two United States efforts."

Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties (Charles J. Kappler) (1904)
DOCS/US  I 1.107:1-7 (7 volumes) CATALOG RECORD
This is a compilation of the treaties, laws, Executive Orders, and other matters relating to Indian affairs up until 1903. It follows the general form of the Statutes-at-Large and includes annotations, footnotes, cross-references and INDEX. Agreements between Indian nations and tribes from 1778 to 1871 are treaties. On March 3, 1871,  Congress passed legislation (16 STATS 566) stating that agreements must thereafter be passed by both Houses of Congress whereupon they become laws, not treaties.

Online version: Oklahoma State University Digital Library: Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties [OSU]
This web site gives digitized versions of laws and treaties.

Online version: Avalon Project at the Yale Law School [Yale]
This web site has full-text digital documents relevant Native Americans. Of special note: Treaties Between the United States and Native Americans, Relations Between the United States and Native Americans, and Statutes of the United States Concerning Native Americans.

Indian Law: An Overview [Cornell]   top
Links to sections of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Federal Regulations, Supreme Court Decisions, State Judicial Decisions, and Agencies. 

Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History [Library of Congress]      top
Links to full-text documents.

The Indian Removals (Senate Document 512, 23rd Congress 1st Session, 1834-35)
DOCS/US  Y 1.1/2:245-1 to -5 [Note: This volume is not individually cataloged in the Library Catalog.]
These five volumes consist of correspondence on the emigration of Indians between November 30, 1831, and December 27, 1833. They contain reports and detailed financial accounts written by military and civil government employees documenting how Indian removal was carried out at the bureaucratic level after it had been decided upon politically. Pollak Library owns the 1974 reprint.

Online version: Senate Document 512: Correspondence on the Subject of the Emigration of Indians Between the 30th November, 1831, and 27th December, 1833
This digitized version from the Library of Congress gives both text and TIFF images of the original document.

Indian Treaties and Indian Removal Act of 1830
Brief overview of the bill Andrew Jackson signed into law that allowed Indians to be relocated to western lands and led to the Trail of Tears in 1838 when the Cherokee resisted.

 

Law Library of Congress: Indians of North America    top
Links to full-text laws, commentaries, agencies and organizations, and related sites. It includes a link to United States Serial Set Number 4015 Indian Land Cessions in the United States and the Handbook of Federal Indian Law.

 

Laws Relating to the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma 1890 to 1914 (1915) 
DOCS/US  Y 4.IN 2/1:F 58/4 CATALOG RECORD
This is a compilation of all statutes concerning the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma (Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole) that were passed from 1890 to 1914. The statutes are arranged chronologically. The Table of Contents gives the complete statute name, statute number, and the date.

 

National Indian Law Library
Links to full texts of laws (for example, 18 U.S.C. 113, Indian Country Defined) and regulations, including Executive Orders (for example, EO 13007, Indian Sacred Sites).

 

Opinions of the Solicitor of the Department of Interior Relating to Indian Affairs, 1917-1974 (1979)
DOCS/US  I 1.69/9:1917-74 V.1-2 CATALOG RECORD
The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1341) authorized the compilation of official opinions of the Solicitor of the Department Relating to Indian Affairs. This 2-volume document was published to make available to the public previously unpublished opinions dealing with Indian statutes, the status of Indian land and rights in natural resources, and definitions of tribal governmental powers. The INDEX ian tribe, first search by a topic such as RESERVATIONS and then scan the entries for tribal names such as Chippewa or Papago.

Presidential Policy Papers on Indian Self-Determination   top
This U.S. Senate web site gives the texts of statements by Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton on federal Indian policies and legislation. Included is the noted speech by President Nixon on Indian self-determination on July 8, 1970.

CALIFORNIA INDIANS--Background Sources      top

Early California Laws and Policies Related to California Indians(2002) PDF-59 pages

Excerpt from Executive Summary: "The initial investigation and research contained in this report led to a focus on four examples of early State of California laws and policies that significantly impacted the California Indians’ way of life: · The 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians and related amendments; · California militia policies and "Expeditions against the Indians" during 1851 to 1859; · The State of California’s official response to federal treaties negotiated with California Indians during 1851 to 1852; and · Early and current state fish protection laws that exempt California Indians from related prohibitions".

National Indian Law Library   top
Tribal codes and constitutions provided by the tribes. The National Indian Law Library (NILL) and its partners—the National Tribal Justice Resource Center and the University of Oklahoma Law Library—have obtained permission from the individual tribes to place these documents on their website. Contains documents from several California tribes.

Progress Report to the Legislature by the Senate Interim Committee on California Indian Affairs (Senate Resolution no. 115) (1955)   
DOCS/STATE CALIF L500 I635 R4 1955 CATALOG RECORD 
Boscana was a missionary at San Juan Capistrano from 1812 to 1826 during which time he wrote this manuscript titled "Chinigchinich: A Historical Account of the Belief, Usages, Customs, and Extravagancies of the Indians of This Mission of San Juan Capistrano, called the Acagchemem Tribe." Originally published in 1846; Pollak Library owns the 1966 reprint.

Tribes of California (1877)   
DOCS/US  I 17.5:3 CATALOG RECORD
Stephen Powers lived among the California Indian tribes from 1871 to 1872 and wrote exhaustive descriptions of their social customs and traditions. Tribes described are: Karok, Yurok, Tolowa, Hupa, Patawat, Viard, Mattoal, Wailakki, Yuki, Tatu, Pomo, Yokaia, Gallinomero, Gualala, Ashochimi, Kabinapek, Makh Elchel, Patwin, Win Tun, Shastika, Modok, Achomawi, Nozi, Maidu, Nishinam, Miwok, Yosemite,Yokuts and Paiuti. The final two chapters discuss "General Facts" and "Aboriginal Botany".

DAWES ACT--Background Sources   top

"Choctaw-Chickasaw Enrollment: Part I," Prologue, Winter 1999, v.31 no.4 p.231-245DOCS/US  AE 1.111:31/4 pages 231-245
Government periodical article with extensive background information on the Dawes Commission and Dawes Act. Photographs, bibliographic references to primary sources.

"Choctaw-Chickasaw Enrollment: Part II," Prologue, Spring 2000, v.32 no.1 p.7-22

      top

DOCS/US  AE 1.111:31/4 pages 7-22
Government periodical article with extensive background information on the Dawes Commission and Dawes Act. Photographs, bibliographic references to primary sources.

Note: The following list includes both background materials and primary sources.    top

Statistics:    Census Facts for Features: American Indians 2006 | 2005 | 2004
Current statistics on population, age, state and county distribution, families, education, homeownership, veteran status, language and employment.

Statistics:   1990 Census: Characteristics of American Indians by Tribe and Language       top
Print: DOCS/US  C 3.223/10:1990 CP 3-7 sec.1 and sec.2 CATALOG RECORD
Population by tribe. Social characteristics. Data for U.S. and by state, region, metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's).

 

Statistics:   2000 Census: The American Indian and Native Population: 2000 (2002) PDF-12 pages
Population by tribe is given in Table 5. Ten largest tribes. Ten places with largest population or highest percentage of Native American population. Discussion and statistics.

Statistics:    American Factfinder: American Indian and Alaska Native Data and Links [Census Bureau]
Links to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

Statistics:     We the People: American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States (2006) PDF-23 pages
A portrait of the American Indian and Alaska native population in the United States, providing data on the largest specified tribal groupings, reservations, Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas (ANVSAs) and areas outside reservations and ANVSAs at the national level. It is part of a special report series that presents data collected from Census 2000 on demographic, social and economic characteristics.(Added 02/08/2006)

Statistics:  Census Bureau: American Indian and Alaska Native Populations [Census Bureau]
The Census Bureau web site provides access to statistical reports on American Indians: population estimates and projections, characteristics of American Indians by tribe and language, social and economic characteristics for the 25 largest American Indian Tribes, and more.  

American Memory [Library of Congress]      top
Library of Congress multimedia collection of digitized documents, photographs, recorded sound, and moving pictures from American history. It includes legislation, maps, photographs, and additional primary source materials on Native Americans. Of special note: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest.

 

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest [Library of Congress: American Memory]
This digital collection integrates over 2,300 photographs and 7,700 pages of text relating to the American Indians in two cultural areas of the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest Coast and Plateau. These resources illustrate many aspects of life and work, including housing, clothing, crafts, transportation, education, and employment.

Avalon Project at the Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy [Yale]
The Avalon Project mounts digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. Of special note: Treaties Between the United States and Native Americans, Relations Between the United States and Native Americans, and Statutes of the United States Concerning Native Americans.

A Century of Lawmaking, 1774-1873 [Library of Congress]   top
Digitized images of the Journals of the Continental Congress, Statutes-At-Large from 1789-1873 (1st-42d Congress), House Journal, Senate Journal, Debates of Congress from 1789-1873 (1st-42d Congress), and more.

Federally Recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives PDF-7 pages [BIA]
This Bureau of Indian Affairs site gives links to The Federal Register Notice that appeared on Monday, July 12, 2002, "Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs."

Indians/Native Americans [National Archives]
Links to American history relating to Native Americans. Digitized images of primary source materials in the National Archives and selected special collections are presented.

National Portrait Gallery: Native Americans [Smithsonian Institution]    top
Images of portraits of noted Native Americans Sequoyah, Chief Joseph, Black Hawk, Sitting Bull, Chief Thundercloud, and others, painted by artists in the 1880s.

Native American Languages [University of Osaka]  
Links to web sites on the languages of Native Americans. Includes "Dictionaries, Fonts, and Specific Languages According to Family" for Algonquin, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Gros Ventre, Iroquoian, Cherokee, and Siouan and more. 

Native Americans: Laws [FedLaw]    top
Full texts of laws (for example, 18 U.S.C. 113, Indian Country Defined) and regulations, including Executive Orders (for example, EO 13007, Indian Sacred Sites).