LibGuides: American Indigenous Studies Resources: Library and Archival Resources for Research

Journals and Newspapers

Archives Unbound: American Indian Movement and Native American Radicalism
Coverage: 1969-1979
A digital archive of FBI files that illustrate the evolution of AIM as an organization of social protest and the development of Native American radicalism.

American Indian Newspapers (Boston Public Library)
For access, create an online account at the BPL: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6598436/eCard-Registration
American Indian Quarterly
Chronicling America: Newspapers of Indigenous Peoples of North America
Searchable digitized copy of newspapers produced by native peoples of North America between 1829 and 1921.

American Periodicals Series Online
Coverage: 1740 - 1940
Includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century.

19th Century US Newspapers via Boston Public Library
For access, create an online account at the BPL: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6598436/eCard-Registration
AlterNative An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples
AlterNative is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary journal that publishes scholarship across the Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Health, Business, and Law. It was launched in 2005 by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence to provide a forum for Indigenous scholarship.
American Antiquarian Society Newspaper Collection
American Indian culture and research journal.
Issues available via inter library loan
Boston Globe and other MA Newspapers at the Boston Public Library
For access, create an online account at the BPL: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6598436/eCard-Registration
Dawnland Voices 2.0 INDIGENOUS WRITING FROM NEW ENGLAND AND THE NORTHEAST
This site is a companion to Dawnland Voices: Indigenous Writings from New England, co-edited with 11 tribal editors (available at MIT Libraries in print and online). Both the published anthology and this website showcase the wide variety of literature produced by Native people from this region.
Journal of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (2014-)
Tribal College: Journal of American Indian Higher Education
Wicazo sa Review
Essays, articles, interviews, reviews, poems, short stories, course outlines, curriculum designs, scholarly research and literary criticism reflective of Native American studies and related fields.

Databases, Collections, Libraries

Ethnic NewsWatch
Coverage: 1990 - present
A full-text collection of newspapers, journals and magazines published by ethnic and minority presses.
HathiTrust Digital Library
Find full text PDFs of digitized books and other content from libraries around the world. You can search within the full text of all the items in the collection, but viewing some items is limited by copyright/licensing - check: full view only to search only for downloadable books.
JSTOR Scholarly Journal Archive
Additional license restrictions
A collection of scholarly journals in many fields. Includes deep historical coverage but current years are excluded.
Project MUSE
A collection of major journals in the humanities and social sciences. Coverage is roughly from 2000 to the present.

American Philosophical Society Collections
Indigenous Law Portal - Global
Developed at the Library of Congress Law Library, and now hosted by LLMC Digital, this portal compiles links to hundreds of sources on laws and legal systems pertinent to indigenous peoples in the Americas and around the world.
Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776-1949
This library includes all U.S. treaties, up to 1949, whether currently in-force, expired, or not-yet officially published.

Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO): British Theatre, Music, & Literature
Primary sources related to the arts in the Victorian era, from playbills and scripts to operas and complete scores.

Related Guides

MIT History
History of the Institute by MIT archivists. This site will connect you to exhibits, information, and interesting facts about the rich history of MIT. You will find information on a variety of MIT topics, including administrative offices, committees, councils, associations, as well as information on schools, departments, courses, laboratories, centers, and programs.
MIT People
This guide serves as a list of resources for those hoping to complete biographical research on students, alumni, faculty, or staff in the Department of Distinctive Collections. While some resources have been digitized and are available online or are available elsewhere in MIT Libraries, we strongly recommend visiting Distinctive Collections if you are conducting in-depth research.

Archival Resources, Image Collections, and Maps

Akwesasne Notes
On microfilm at Brown University Archives. These holdings are more complete than the online copy available via the Ethnic Newswatch database at MIT Libraries
Census and other records at the National Archives
The National Archives has the census schedules available from 1790 to 1950. Family researchers generally find it most helpful to begin with the most current census and work backwards as a strategy for locating people in earlier generations.
Edward S. Curtis' The North American Indian
Northeastern Library photograph collection (1907 and 1930).
Family Search Online
Genealogical and other historical resources. Log in & click on the Search tab, go to the bottom of the list and click on Research Wiki. To use map, search for location of interest. Bottom of the sidebar on the right is a category for Cultural Groups – click on Indigenous People to find the sources that Family Search has compiled.
Indigenous Peoples of North America Part I & Indigenous Peoples of North America Part II: The Indian Rights Association, 1882-1986
Indigenous Peoples of North America is available in two parts and thoughtfully illustrates and contextualizes the story of Indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada. Both parts offer users an appealing search experience and enable intelligent inquiry into the culture and heritage of Indigenous peoples.
MIT Museum Collections
My Heritage Library Database via Boston Public Library
One of the largest, diverse genealogy databases of its kind. It provides access to billions of historical documents, millions of historical photos, historical newspapers, and other resources in thousands of databases that span the past five centuries.
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For access, create an online account at the BPL: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6598436/eCard-Registration
The Narragansett Dawn
A newsletter edited by Princess Redwing and Ernest Hazard and published by the Narragansett Tribe of Indians in 1935 and 1936. It includes short articles by a variety of writers on the culture, history, and politics of the Narragansett Indians. It also includes religious and poetic writing, lessons in the Narragansett language, advice from community leaders, and a "milestones" section documenting births, deaths, and other life transitions.
Nashauonk Mittark (Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe)
Link on website provides access to archived issues back to 2009.
Native American Resources at MIT Distinctive Collections
Resources at MIT Library Archives. List compiled by Nora Murphy, last updated by Myles Crowley in July 2020.
Native Land Digital
Digital map of Indigenous nations. Includes information about nations, languages, treaties and other resources.
Native Northeast Portal
Contains primary source materials by, on, or about Northeast Indians from repositories around the world.
Sheffiled Scientific School at Yale
More about the Sheffield School: https://ogc.yale.edu/governance/sheffield-scientific-school . MIT President Francis A. Walker was a professor of political economy here.

American Indigenous Studies Resources: Library and Archival Resources for Research

Journals and Newspapers

Databases, Collections, Libraries

Related Guides

Archival Resources, Image Collections, and Maps

Acknowledgements for the American Indigenous Studies Resources Libguide