Sources for History 407/507: Native Nations and the U.S.

1. Background information

   • Handbook of North American Indians - Knight Reference E77 .H25
     Multiple volumes; includes information by tribe, organized in regional volumes. Overviews, with citations to primary sources
   • Treaties with American Indians: An Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty - Law Library KF8203.6 .T74 2008
     Includes reprints of both US and Canadian primary documents, as well as essays & other secondary sources
   • See also:
   • ABC-CLIO Companion to the Native American Rights Movement - Knight Reference KF8203.36 .G76 1996
     Historical (i.e. not just the 60's-70's) -- gives overviews of significant individuals, commissions, reports, landmark legal cases, etc.
   • Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law  - this link is to the original 1942 ed., the 1982 ed. is on reserve at Knight: KF8205.C6 1982.
     Justice Frankfurter called this classic work the only book that has ever made sense and order from "the vast hodgepodge of treaties, statutes, judicial and administrative rulings, and unrecorded practice in which the intricacies and perplexities, confusions and injustices of the law governing Indians lay concealed."
   • Encyclopedia of American Indian History - Knight Reference E77 .E48 2008
     See the Resources section at the end for primary sources.
   • A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest - Knight Reference E78 .N77 R79 1992
     Includes chronologies of legislative and judicial actions.

2. Treaties and Laws

   • Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, edited by Charles J. Kappler, 1904
     Digital version created by the University of Oklahoma. This compilation includes treaties, statutes, executive orders and proclamations, and court decisions. First published in 1903-1904, it has been updated to 1971. To go directly to treaties, see:
     • Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, Vol. II: Treaties - Browse by tribe or year
   • U.S. Statutes at Large in Hein Online database

3. Congressional Documents

   • Debate in the Congressional Globe
     In print, or in Hein Online (under U.S. Congressional documents)
     • The index only is online at the Library of Congress American Memory project
   • Proceedings in the Journals of House and Senate
     In print, or online at the Library of Congress American Memory project
   • The Serial Set includes congressional reports
     In print with print index in Documents Reference Z1223.Z9 C65 1975, or in LexisNexis Congressional
   • Congressional committee hearings can be searched on Lexis-Nexis Congressional (now called ProQuest Congressional) from 1824 to the present.

4. Executive Documents

   • Presidential Papers
   • The Serial Set includes reports from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Secretary of War
     In print with print index in Documents Reference Z1223.Z9 C65 1975, or in LexisNexis Congressional
   • Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs - also available as separate volumes that can be checked out - Knight E93 .U71
     Library has 1852, 1857-1858, 1865-1891, 1895-1896, 1900, 1921-26, 1929-32, 1947
     • Some reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs contain a separate section of "[Presidential] Executive Orders Relating to Indian Reserves"

5. Maps

   • The digital Serial Set can be searched for maps only, but these are large pdfs with only black and white images.
     Consider using search results from the digital Serial Set to find the maps in the print edition.
   • Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1897) at the Library of Congress has large, color maps of Indian Land Cessions 1784-1894.  (This report, with maps, is also in the Serial Set.)

6. Other Resources

   • American Indians of the Pacific Northwest digital collection at the University of Washington
     Includes documents, images, and secondary sources
   • William Henry Boyle Papers - Special Collections Manuscripts 187
     Military correspondence, documents, memorabilia, and maps of a U.S. soldier stationed in the Northwest from 1866 to 1884
   • Microforms - primary sources on microfiche and microfilm
   • Historical newspapers and periodicals
     • Search  The Oregonian index from 1851-1987 -  full text is on microfilm
     • Search  The New York Times from 1851- three years ago. Full text online.
     • Search The Los Angeles Times  from 1881-1986. Full text online.
     • American Periodical Series - searchable full text 1740-1900
     • Also worth trying: JSTOR (use Advanced Search to limit by years), 19th Century Masterfile, Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 (for the Southwest)
   • Tribal government web sites
     • A to Z index of tribal governments from USA.gov
     • Oregon tribal government links on Oregon Policy Directory (see Native Americans)
   • Books, movies, articles, and other secondary sources

Tips for Searching Hein Online

• Choose "U.S. Congressional Documents" or "U.S. Statutes at Large" from the left column
• Use "Advanced Search" to limit by date

Tips for Searching the Serial Set

• Uncheck all boxes except "Serial Set" or "Serial Set Maps"
• Limit the date ranges
• Useful search terms:
  • Indian treaties
  • report of commissioner of Indian affairs
  • Indian and a place name
  • Names of tribes (combine alternate names or spellings with OR)
  • Indian affairs
  • Avoid "Native American"; not useful in this database