E-Resources for Native American Studies

Included in ProQuest's History Vault database, this resource consists of a large variety of collections from the U.S. National Archives, a series of collections from the Chicago History Museum, as well as selected first-hand accounts of interactions between the U.S. Army and American Indian tribes in the west.

Covers Native North American history, life, and culture from the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF). Materials indexed include the cumulative eight volumes of the Ethnographic Bibliography of North America, books, journal articles, essays, conference papers, dissertations and U.S. government documents. This database was formerly known as Bibliography of Native North Americans.

Provides access to materials that cover early encounters between the indigenous population of North America and the rest of the world from 1534 to 1850. This collection focuses on present-day Canada and the United States with limited coverage of Mexico. Resources include letters, diaries, memoirs, and illustrations. The collection provides unique perspectives from all of the protagonists, including traders, enslaved peoples, missionaries, soldiers, native peoples, and officials. Highlights include John James Audubon's Birds of America and George Catlin's early illustrations capturing the traditions and customs of various North American tribes.

Ethnic NewsWatch provides access to full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives. Subject coverage includes culture, religion, independent press, and ethnic studies. The database also contains Ethnic NewsWatch: A History, which provides historical coverage of Native American, African American, and Hispanic American periodicals from 1959-1989.

A digital collection of primary source documents covering the lives of immigrants and Indigenous peoples in various European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa, and Australasia. Topics covered include land and property, women's history, religion, the natural world, warfare, health and medicine, family, business and trade, agriculture, arts and entertainment, politics, and more. Resources include correspondence, diaries, government papers, business records, land transactions, legal documents, speeches, books and pamphlets.

Indian Claims Insight allows researchers to understand and analyze Native American migration and forced resettlement throughout U.S. history, U.S. Government Indian removal policies, and subsequent actions to address Native American claims against the U.S. Government. This collection includes congressional publications, treaties, maps, and docket materials for all Indian Claims Commission cases, as well as cases that preceded and followed the existence of the commission.

Four centuries of history, from early contact to the modern era, are featured in this resource. Coverage includes peoples of North and Central America; materials include manuscripts, illustrations, newspapers, books, photos and maps. Cross-searchable with the American West database. This database was formerly called American Indian Histories and Cultures. 

Indigenous Newspapers of North America offers a diverse collection of print journalism from Indigenous peoples of the US and Canada. Resources include national periodicals as well as local community news and student publications. This collection is also bi-lingual and features editions in Indigenous-languages, such as Hawaiian, Cherokee and Navajo. Subjects covered include the self-determination era and American Indian Movement (AIM), education, language revitalization, environmentalism, tribal laws, public health and welfare, and rights and cultural representation from an Indigenous perspective. This resource has been developed with the permission and contribution of the newspaper publishers and Tribal Councils concerned and was formerly known as American Indian Newspapers. 

Indigenous Peoples of North America Part I provides access to diverse information sources to enhance research and increase understanding of the historical experiences, traditions, innovations, and political status of Indigenous peoples of the United States and Canada. Resources include manuscripts, books, newspapers, photographs, motion pictures, and artwork.

Newly released in 2022, Indigenous Peoples of North America Part II: The Indian Rights Association 1882-1986 provides a record of the first organization to address Native American interests and rights. Resources include correspondence, pamphlets, draft legislation, administrative files, the papers of Indian Rights Association founder Herbert Welsh, photographs, manuscripts, and research notes.

With nearly 3,900 titles and more than 2.3 million total pages dedicated to indigenous American life and law, this library includes an expansive archive of treaties, federal statutes and regulations, federal case law, tribal codes, constitutions, and jurisprudence. This library also features rare compilations edited by Felix S. Cohen. This database was formerly known as American Indian Law Collection.

Provides full text plays from American Indian and First Nation playwrights of the 20th century. More than half of the works are previously unpublished, and hard to find, representing groups such as Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Pembina Chippewa, Ojibway, Comanche, Cree, Navajo, Rappahannock, and others.

North American Indian Thought and Culture is a database on indigenous peoples from all areas of North America. This collection presents the life stories and historical events of American Indians and Canadian First Peoples as told in their own words. Resources include autobiographies, biographies, Indian publications, oral histories, personal writings, photographs, drawings, and audio files. Biographies include works on Quanah Parker, Dennis Banks, Susan La Flesche Picotte, Crowfoot, Peter Pitchlynn, Sacajawea, Black Elk, Standing Buffalo, and others.