Primary Source Spotlight: Native American History & Heritage
PSN curated source sets
- Charles Curtis
- Chief Joseph Surrenders
- Ruth Muskrat Bronson
- Chief John Ross & the Cherokee Nation
- Jim Thorpe
- Sarah Winnemucca
- Custer’s Last Stand
- Fort Necessity & the French and Indian War
- Captivity Narratives
- Indian Citizenship Act
- Jamestown
- Siege of Fort Meigs
- Western Missionaries & Native Americans
- The Iroquois Confederacy
- Muskogee (Creek) Nation
- Narragansett
- Navajo
- The Nez Percé
- Paiute
- The Sauk & the Black Hawk War
- The Seminoles
- Sioux (Dakota) and Sitting Bull
- The Ute People
- Wampanoag
- Indigenous Code Talkers
- Indian Removal
More Native American trailblazers
- Charles Brent Curtis, First Native American Congressional Member In Custodia Legis January 26, 2018
- Chief Standing Bear and His Landmark Civil Rights Case In Custodia Legis November 21, 2019
- Elizabeth Peratrovich, Civil and Voting Rights Activist In Custodia Legis November 1, 2022
- Treaty and Fishing Rights Activist Billy Frank: the Fish Wars In Custodia Legis November 3, 2022
More primary source sets
- New Spain and the Comanche: Encounters, Missions, and Conquests
- Exploring the Early Americas Interpreting the Conquest online exhibition
- Parallel Histories: Spain, United States and the American Frontier ideas to explore
- New Spain maps
- Travels through the western interior of the United States, from the year 1808 up to the year 1816; with a particular description of a great part of Mexico, or New-Spain 1816
- Comanches primary source set
- Puritans and Native Americans in New England
- Religion and the Founding of the American Republic online exhibition
- The history of Virginia, in four parts 1722
- The Second Great Migration: Religious Refugees and the Remaking of America, 1678-1690 streaming webcast
- Captivity narratives primary source set
- Historic newspaper coverage mentioning puritans and indians 1836-1922
- Fort Dearborn Massacre: Exchanging Victory for Exile
- The Chicago massacre of 1812: with illustrations and historical documents 1893
- Ceremonies at the unveiling of the bronze memorial group of the Chicago massacre of 1812 1893
- Heroes and heroines of the Fort Dearborn massacre 1896
- The Fort Dearborn massacre, written in 1814 by Lieutenant Linai T. Helm, one of the survivors, with letters and narratives of contemporary interest c1912
- Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835 : a study of the evolution of the northwestern frontier, together with a history of Fort Dearborn 1913
- Fort Dearborn Massacre historic newspaper coverage
- Early Explorers or Colonizers: The French in Illinois
- The French in Illinois Country France in America online exhibition
- French and Indians of Illinois River 1874
- The French foundations, 1680-1693 Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, c1934
- George Rogers Clark to Patrick Henry, April 29, 1779, Illinois Expedition; Capture of British Trading Post at Vincennes
- Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, June 19, 1779, George Rogers Clark and Illinois Expedition; Capture of British Trading Post at Vincennes
- George Washington Papers related to the Illinois-Wabash Indian Treaty 1793-94
- Receipt book for officer and soldier’s certificates, Illinois Grant 1784-88
- History of Lieutenant-Colonel George Rogers Clark’s conquest of the Illinois and of the Wabash towns from the British in 1778 and 1779 1903
- An Act to enable the President to extinguish Indian title within the state of Indiana, Illinois, and territory of Michigan July 9, 1832 (PDF p. 69)
- An act to provide for the extinguishment of the Indian title to lands lying in the states of Missouri and Illinois, and for other purposes July 14, 1832 (PDF p. 99)
- Narrative of a voyage made to the Illinois 1852
- Indian Land Cessions in Illinois 1784-1894
- Illinois Indian Land Cession maps 1899
- The transition in Illinois from British to American government 1909
- Great Britain and the Illinois country, 1763-1774 1910
- The last of the Illini; or, The legend of Starved Rock, a tale of Illinois 1916
- Today in Illinois History: Indians Chicago Day Book newspaper
- Native American Resources in the Manuscript Division
Library collections & primary source sets
- Assimilation through Education primary source set with teacher guide
- Contemporary color photographs of Native Americans
- Edward S. Curtis Collection
- Indian Affairs: American State Papers, 1789-1827
- Indian Land Cessions in the United States, 1784-1894
- Indians: Travels in America, 1750-1920
- Indians: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910
- Indians: Narratives of Washington and the Chesapeake Bay Region, ca. 1600-1925
- Indians: First-Person Narratives of California’s Early Years, 1849-1900
- Living Nations, Living Words story map featuring 47 contemporary Native Nations poets
- Omaha Indian Music
- Native American History and Culture: Finding Pictures
- Native American Images: Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
- Native American Spaces: Cartographic Resources at the Library of Congress
- Pictorial Americana: Western Life & Indian Fighting
- Native American Newspapers
- Topics in Chronicling America – Native American Education/Indian Schools timeline and select newspaper articles
- Topics in Chronicling America – Wounded Knee Massacre timeline and select newspaper articles
Veterans History Project
Legal Resources
- Native American Constitutions and Legal Materials (related blog post)
- Indigenous Law Web Archive
- Native American Law blog archived website 2010-07-07
Spotlights, Features & Special Presentations
- Agnes Vanderburg’s Salish Indian School on the Folklife Today Podcast
- The Alaska Native Heritage Center
- Essays for the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection
- First Peoples of California
- Historical Monuments of the First Peoples story map
- Native American Resources in the Manuscript Division
- Native Americans: Their Story
- Native Americans and the Vote
- The Native Peoples of Alaska
Teaching & learning resources
Library blog posts
Teaching with the Library
- Celebrating Native American Veterans with Oral Histories and Primary Sources
- Edward S. Curtis and The North American Indian
- Images of Native Americans: Exploring Changing Visual Representations
- The Library of Congress and Native American Heritage Month
- Native American Cultures Today: Primary Sources Documenting Music, Law, and Everyday Life
- Native American Legal Struggles in Primary Sources
- Native Americans in the First World War and the Fight for Citizenship
- Native American Heritage Month: Celebrating Individuals and Exploring History
- Primary Source Highlights for Native American Heritage Month
- Sights and Sounds of the Omaha Indians: Documenting Native American Celebrations
More posts from Library blogs
- American Indian Constitutions In Custodia Legis
- American Indian and Alaskan Native Veterans Served Proudly Too Folklife Today
- Asian American/Pacific Islander and Indigenous Writers’ Author Talks Bookmarked
- Caught My Eye: The Girl in the Elk Tooth Dress Folklife Today
- Celebrating Native American Cartography: The Catawba Deerskin Map Worlds Revealed
- Celebrating Native American Heritage: Whispering Giants Timeless Stories from the Library
- Citizenship and Suffrage for Native Americans In Custodia Legis
- Congressional Cemetery: Celebrating Native American Heritage Month In Custodia Legis
- Ada Deer: Advocate for Tribal Sovereignty In Custodia Legis
- From Ella to Pocahontas In the Muse
- Harvey Pratt: Dreaming of a National Native American Veterans Memorial Folklife Today
- James Mooney Recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance Songs, 1894 Folklife Today
- Land Claims Cases of Indigenous Nations in New York In Custodia Legis
- Memoriam for a Code Talker: Joe Hosteen Kellwood Folklife Today
- Music & Native American Heritage Month In the Muse
- The Narragansett People in the Rhode Island Folklife Project Folklife Today
- National American Indian Heritage Month In Custodia Legis
- National Native Americans Veterans Memorial In Custodia Legis
- Native American Cultural Revitalization Today Folklife Today
- Native American Heritage on Film Now See Hear!
- Native American Heritage Month: Preserving Songs and Stories of the Past Timeless Stories from the Library
- Native American and Indigenous News and Comics Headlines & Heroes
- Native American Maps (and Ideas) that Shaped the Nation Timeless Stories from the Library
- Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovering of America” Timeless Stories from the Library
- Ojibwe Artwork in Bureau of American Ethnology Reports In Custodia Legis
- Orange Shirt Day and the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative In Custodia Legis
- The Osage in Historic Newspapers: Envy, Ridicule and Racism Headlines & Heroes
- Pics of the Week: Sequoyah Inside Adams The Power of Words, the Power of Belonging: What the Navajo Code Talkers Taught Me Folklife Today
- Reflections on the Life of a Native American Marine Folklife Today
- Remembering Vine Deloria, Jr. In Custodia Legis
- Sequoyah: A Man of Letters Picture This
- “She Could Look Into the Heavens”: Ojibwe Poet Jane Johnston Schoolcraft From the Catbird Seat
- Sheet Music of the Week: American Indian Edition In the Muse
- Agnes Vanderburg’s Outdoor School for Traditional Indian Ways Folklife Today
Webcast videos
- Breaking the Bonds of People and Land: Native American Removal in the United States and Mexico
- Do All Indians Live in Tipis? and Other Compelling Questions for Education
- Navajo Code Talkers
- Dineh Tah Navajo Dancers Video
- Indian Yell, the Heart of American Insurgency
- Indian Religious Freedom, to Litigate or Legislate?
- Black Mesa: Water, Power, and the Story of a Master Theft
- Author Luci Tapahonso Webcast
- Author & Spokesman Vine Deloria Jr. Webcast
- Native American Women Writers Discuss Sister Nations Webcast
- Storyteller Joseph Bruchac
Recommended links to resources outside the Library of Congress
- American Indian History and Culture: Encyclopedia Smithsonian
- American Indian Youth Literature Award winners
- American Indians of the Pacific Northwest University of Washington
- Edward S. Curtis’s The North American Indian
- The Forgotten Slavery of Our Ancestors documentary video
- Indians of North America: News and Current Events
- National Museum of the American Indian
- NativeWeb Resources for Indigenous Cultures around the World
- Native American Authors
- Pictures of Native Americans in the United States from the National Archives
- United States Department of the Interior: Indian Affairs