American Indian Studies Research Guide

"In 1817, the 15th Congress, 1st Session began its publication of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, an official bound compilation of documents from both of its houses. In the 1830s, documents between 1789 and 1838 were compiled and printed as the American State Papers. ...Beginning with the 15th Congress, 1st Session (1817), the records in this series include House and Senate documents, House and Senate reports, and more. Reports are typically from congressional committees dealing with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. Documents include all other papers ordered to be printed by the House or Senate, covering a wide variety of topics, including reports of executive departments and independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental organizations. This series also includes executive material from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."

Helpful guide from HeinOnline on how to search the Serial Set and what you can expect to find.

Highly recommended: Supports searching by Treaties, Cessions, Nations and Places, plus refining by dates. Includes facsimiles and transcriptions of treaties, plus pdf versions. View results also by Timeline, which shows other treaties and dates impacting the Tribal groups, or by Cessions, which links to geographical maps. "The Indigenous Digital Archive’s Treaties Explorer, DigiTreaties.org, was created by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico, in partnership with the US National Archives Office of Innovation and National Archives Foundation. Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, the US National Archives conserved and digitized the 374 Ratified Indian Treaties in its holdings." Note: Names of some nations include historic and current names; some nations have only the historic name (e.g., Fox or Sauk / Sac and Fox are included, but not Meskwaki).

Highly recommended: Comprehensive online open database for finding treaties and agreements; can be searched by keyword, browsed by tribes / original signatories, key provisions, and more. Treaties are provided full-text in html, with additional options to view the treaty in Kappler (via "Document Scan" button) or the actual historic handwritten treaty (via "Alternative Source" button) from the National Archives.

"The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) houses original treaties made between the United States and American Indian nations. NARA also houses instructions issued to treaty commissioners, minutes of treaty councils, and other records related to American Indian treaties."

Very helpful guide with links to online tools and print resources.

Links to relevant resources at the National Archives and other organizations.

Can by searched by Tribes or by Date. Some tribes are listed by older names that may no longer be currently used; for example, there is no entry for Meskwaki but numerous relevant treaties for the Fox or Sauk and Fox. Some scanned treaty documents include typed transcription.

Based on the premise that "Native Americans are largely absent from historic maps of Iowa. Where did they live? Did they just disappear into the opaque fog of the blank part of the map? As Americans settled into lands held by natives in the 1800s, early maps may have noted treaty lines, trading posts, and forts, but generally not the location of established villages.
The Historic Indian Location Database (HILD) project uses overlooked historical sources to map American Indian sites in Iowa from the era of the earliest European explorers to the modern period. Its goal is to change Iowa's map from a blank landscape to one populated with villages, camps, and other locations, revealing map that is alive with events and encounters."

"Expropriated Indigenous land is the foundation of the land-grant university system." This massive data- and documents based project maps out "how the United States funded land-grant universities with expropriated Indigenous land" and details the profits earned by universities. By Robert Lee, Tristan Ahtone, and High Country News.

Canadian-based project mapping Indigenous lands globally. Can be searched by languages, territories, and by treaties. You can also enter your address to learn about your specific location. Includes additional historic maps, links to websites, and more. Lists Cessions numbers. The "Open Street Map" button in lower right corner overlays a map with contemporary names and state / country borders.

By Rachel Treisman, for Iowa Public Radio and National Public Radio, Oct. 2022.

Map by W. Barrows showing 1845 Indigenous lands in Iowa. From the Library of Congress.

Searchable by tribe, band or community; by topics including treaties, allotment records, census records, school records, tribal rolls, Indian reorganization act, "termination," and many other topics. Not all materials are available online or openly; this resource is largely a finding tool providing access to some materials and pointing direction to others.

Organized by state; many materials may not yet be available online.