Primary Sources
- American IndiansPrimary sources and teaching materials from the National Archives.
- American Indian Correspondence: Presbyterian Historical Society Collection of Missionaries’ Letters, 1833-1893 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window
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The collection consists primarily of the correspondence of missionaries written to the secretaries of the ABCFM and the Presbyterian BFM. Documenting the mission work among Native Americans, letters are presumably official in nature but often contain much personal comment and experiences. Also the collection consists of reports, including school and mission station reports and statistics; financial statements, accounts, and vouchers; agreements/contracts; maps; and other assorted material. - American Indians and the American West (via History Vault) This link opens in a new window
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Several collections focusing on the interaction between American Indians and the U.S. government in the 19th and 20th Centuries, focusing on the 19th Century Indian Removal from 1832-1840, the U.S. Army and American Indians in the years from the 1850s-1890s, including detailed coverage of Indian Wars. The featured collections on the 20th Century are Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and records from the Major Council Meetings of American Indian Tribes.
- Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian (vol. 1)Digitized version of the extraordinary and controversial work that largely defined the image of American Indians in popular culture. Other volumes can be found in UC Library Search.
- Meriam Report on Indian Administration and the Survey of Conditions of the Indians in the U.S.This collection comprises two sets of documents that helped the response to 40 years of failed Native American policies. The first is the full text of the report entitled The Problem of Indian Administration, better known as the Meriam Report. The second comprises the 41-part report to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs detailing the conditions of life and the effects of policies and programs enacted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Native Americans. Both of these collections provide unique documentary insights into many major tribes: Sioux, Navaho, Quapaw, Chickasaw, Apache, Pueblo, Ute, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kickapoo, Klamath, and many others.
- The War Department and Indian Affairs, 1800-1824
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This Archives Unbound collection consists of the letters received by and letters sent to the War Department. The letters received consist of correspondence from Indian superintendents and agents, factors of trading posts, Territorial and State governors, military commanders, Indians, missionaries, and other public and private individuals.