American Indian Studies Research Guide

Sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, this website provides ample information on various health topics, traditional healing, research, tribal information, and publications.

Listed by tribe, with links to historical congressional information on land cessions

ISU's Catt Center's massive online archive of women's political speech includes information & speeches from Lisa Goree, Debra Haaland, Paulette Jordan, Winona LaDuke, Wilma Mankiller, Autumn Peltier & Fawn Sharp; Zitkala Sa is also included.

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1879-1918) was the first government-run boarding school that sought to assimilate Indigenous children. Many indigenous children were traumatized being separated from their families, cultural ways and languages; estimates indicate between 230-500 students died. Some children succeeded while many others struggled. This site seeks to "tell the full story" of the Carlisle children, families, and tribes that were impacted by making the school's records open.

Formerly known as the Fourth World Documentation Project, this site provides full-text electronic documents relating to contemporary "...social, political, strategic, economic and human rights situations" faced by indigenous peoples worldwide.

Bilingual English-French website on indigenous peoples of Canada; includes many links to indigenous organizations, resources on economic development; health; language & cultural maintenance; treaties, and much more. Parallel sites in English and in French.

Digital copies of treaties and related documents from the US National Archives are easily found through this online project from the Indigenous Digital Archive (IDA). "While treaties between Indigenous peoples and the United States affect virtually every area in the USA, there is as yet no official list of all the treaties. The US National Archives holds 374 of the treaties, where they are known as the Ratified Indian Treaties. Here you can view them for the first time with key historic works that provide context to the agreements made and the histories of our shared lands." Includes treaties, cessions, information on the tribes impacted by these land removals, and more. You can search and browse through the site's materials, and also input your zipcode or other geographic location to find relevant information.

Located in Oklahoma City, this noteworthy museum currently features the exhibit "Winiko: Life of an Object," featuring repatriated objects from the Smithsonian's vast collections that belong to the cultural patrimony of the 39 tribes of Oklahoma.

Part of the WWW Virtual Library project, this site linked many resources and information of all kinds, organized by subject; includes search engine.

"Serving American Indian nations and people in the recovery and control of their rightful homelands."

This new Aug. 2024 guide from the Library of Congress "brings together resources in their collections that relate to Indigenous communities in the Americas." Includes additional "research guides, digital collection material, Story Maps, and event video recordings."

"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.

From the Smithsonian; the largest museum dedicated to Native American cultural materials and resources.

Indigenous-led organization focused on advocacy, research and education, and healing related to boarding schools and intergenerational trauma. Their website includes oral histories and an interactive map of boarding schools across the country.

No longer being updated. Formerly, one of the best sources for locating Web sites developed by individual American Indian nations and other native peoples, as well as native information on many topics. Includes useful lists of video sources and media production companies, and sections on language and the issue of "mascots." The site also hosts the website of the American Indian Library Association. By Lisa Mitten, formerly a librarian at the University of Pittsburgh.

Well-research Wikipedia entry with robust References and Further Reading lists.

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.

"Resource center for and about indigenous peoples worldwide, with emphasis (for now) on the Americas. Annotated Web links organized geographically and by subject area. Access to mailing lists, job listings, message boards, online chat room, and newsletters. Extensive library of original articles on indigenous technology and arts. Lists of books and music recordings organized by subject and linked to an online bookstore. Includes search engine."

Approved in March 2018, this position paper from members of the National Council for the Social Studies details the need to incorporate indigenous viewpoints and contributions throughout the K12 curricula. The authors state, "While necessary, these recommendations are not exhaustive, but are the first steps in transforming social studies education to respect and affirm Indigenous peoples and nations."

Organizes federal government information, reports, and policies relevant to native communities and nations. Topics of interest include health issues and housing, community development, agriculture, and children's issues; includes links to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the US Senate and House of Representatives, and other federal government entities. Hosted by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Native American Programs.

Online exhibit and research site from UC San Diego featuring digital images of 19th century Plains Indian original colored drawings done in ledger books, commemorating events and history. The site includes cover-to-cover digital facsimiles of the ledgers cataloged so far, along with cataloged names of the ledgers and the tribe (primarily Cheyenne; Lakota; Kiowa) of the artists.

Compiled by Gerald W. Williams, PhD, Historical Analyst for the USDA Forest Service, June 2003. Lengthy 107-page bibliography of references related to fire ecology / cultural burning practices of Indigenous Native Americans. Includes a listing of "every Indian / First Nations tribe / people by tribal affiliation that have documented use of fire in ecosystems across North America."

Collection of full-text scholarly articles, bibliographies, and information on the teaching and revitalizing of indigenous languages. Includes teaching models, details on the status of various American Indian languages, and rationales for keeping endangered languages alive. Much social and political information relevant to language maintenance is also included. Information on academic conferences, and links to relevant websites elsewhere are also provided. By Jon Reyhner.