Native American History
Native American History Research Guide
The William L. Clements Library’s Native American History Collection spans multiple divisions and documents the diverse and rich histories of Native Americans, predominantly from the 18th-20th centuries. Areas of strength in the Clements’ holdings include Native American education/assimilation institutions, maps and other materials related to territoriality and space-making practice, wars, trade and mercantile papers, negotiations and treaties, material culture and artwork, traditional customs, documentation of colonial encounters and missionary work, relocation, and resources relating to specific tribes and languages.
Materials from each division offer various means of exploring how Americans have experienced, understood, and documented race and indigeneity. Using featured materials, researchers can trace the language and rhetoric that has been used to describe and self-identify various indigenous peoples. However, as an entry point, this research guide will use the term “Native American” to refer to the Indigenous peoples of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. As you use Clements resources, you may encounter language that may be considered culturally insensitive or derogatory. Clements staff aim to only include such language where it is essential for access and discoverability. To find out more about our policies relating to harmful language, please read our Harmful Language Statement.
This subject guide is intended to offer a broad overview of holdings at the Clements Library related to the Native American History, but it is not an exhaustive guide. It is meant as a starting point for researchers interested in this topic, not an exhaustive list of all relevant materials. If you have any questions about this guide or our holdings please contact us here.
The William L. Clements Library offers fellowships to help scholars access the Library’s rich primary source collections for research. The Alfred A. Cave Fellowship and other week-long and short-term fellowships specifically support research projects related to Native American Studies. Visit the Fellowships website for information regarding application information and deadlines.
Highlights from the Clements Collections
Native American Collection
The Native American Collection consists of approximately 125 letters and documents from 1689-1921, detailing interactions between Native American tribes with British and American settlers across the United States, Canada, and the West Indies. Topics covered include land agreements, legal issues, treaties, uprisings, captivities, enslavement, and missionary interactions. Tribes include the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cree, Iroquois, Ojibwa, Oneida, Ottawa, Kickapoo, Seneca, Shawnee, Sioux among others. Also present are materials written in Cherokee, Mohawk, and Ojibwa.
Edward Surovell collection of Native American languages
The Edward Surovell collection of Native American languages consists of approximately 300 nineteenth and twentieth century books printed in more than 20 Indigenous languages of North America, with a particular interest in material from the Great Lakes region. It includes 93 books in Ojibwa (Anishinaabemowin), as well as Navajo, Mohawk, Dakota, and Cheyenne. While many of the books represent the work of Christian missionaries, the collection also contains works by Native authors, compilers, and translators.
Fort Wayne Indian Agency Collection
The Fort Wayne Indian Agency Collection encompasses a letterbook (189 pages) maintained by Indian agents John Johnston and Benjamin Franklin Stickney, an English-to-Ottawa dictionary (40 pages) potentially authored by Stickney, and a memorandum book (145 pages) recorded by Johnston during his tenure at Fort Wayne. These volumes detail life (both administrative and personal) in the Indiana Territory in the early 19th century. This collection offers detailed information about Fort Wayne during the years leading up to and immediately following the War of 1812, when Fort Wayne emerged as a critical site of American frontier defenses. This collection has been digitized and is also available here.
Great Britain Indian Department Collection
The Great Britain Indian Department Collection comprises documents, correspondence, and manuscripts from 1753-1795. The collection details interactions between government and military officials, Native Americans, and American settlers. Most materials focus on British relations with Native Americans in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Materials address topics like diplomatic efforts, military affairs, boundary disputes, and land infringement concerns. This collection has been digitized and is also available here.
John M. Johnston Collection
This collection includes 65 items pertaining to Native Americans in Michigan in the 19th century and to John M. Johnston, a Native American language interpreter from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The collection is comprised of 21 letters, 32 documents, and 12 notes/miscellaneous items. The majority of materials are dated between 1820-1892.
Richard Pohrt, Jr. Collection of Native American Photography
The Richard Pohrt, Jr. collection features around 1,470 photographs related to Native Americans and their history. The collection materials span from the 1850s-1920s. The majority of images are individual and group portraits of tribes from west of the Mississippi, especially the Apache, Cheyenne, Crow, and Lakota/Dakota. The collection includes both studio and outdoor photographs, showcasing the dramatic changes in Native American life due to U.S. expansion. The bulk of this collection has been digitized and can be accessed here.
Josiah Harmar papers
The Josiah Harmar papers contain the official and personal correspondence, military records, and diaries of Harmar, with particular focus on his military leadership during the Northwest Indian War.
Standing Rock Indian Agency papers
The collection consists of over 80 letters and documents pertaining to the Standing Rock Indian Agency located in South Dakota. The papers relate to nearly every aspect of running the agency.
Subject Headings & Keywords
To find materials on Native American history in our holdings, search by Subject Headings in our catalog or finding aids.
To find collections and materials related to specific military conflicts involving Native Americans, perform subject or keyword searches using Library of Congress subject headings for particular wars (e.g. King Philip’s War, 1675-1676; United States--History--French and Indian War, 1754-1763; Pontiac’s Conspiracy, 1763-1765; Red Cloud’s War, 1866-1867; Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876; etc.)
To find collections and materials related to specific material culture, perform subject searches using Library of Congress subject headings (e.g. “Clothing & dress,” “Tomahawks,” “Pipes (Smoking),” “Headdresses,” “Navajo blankets,” “Ribbon work,” “Tipis,” “Wigwams,” etc.). You may find success by combining search headings with keywords. Note that there are some terms that show up in collection and material descriptions but are not subject headings (e.g. “bear claw necklace,” “elk teeth,” “Missouri war axe,” etc.).
The following subject headings and keywords may be particularly productive as a starting point:
Subject Headings
- Algonquian
- Beadwork
- Clothing & dress
- Embroidery
- First Nations
- Frontier and pioneer life
- Fur trade
- Group portraits
- Hides & skins
- Indian agents--United States
- Indian captivities
- Indian dance
- Indian encampments
- Indian reservations
- Indians of North America
- Indigenous
- Indigenous peoples
- Lakota
- Manners and customs
- Military scouts
- Missions
- Native American
- Necklaces
- Ojibwe
- Richard Pohrt Jr. Collection of Native American Photography
- Rites & ceremonies
- Shamans
- Siouan
- Stereographs
- Trading posts--North America
- Tribal chiefs
- United States. Army. Indian Scouts
- United States--Discovery and exploration
- United States. Office of Indian Affairs.
- Warriors
- Wheat Maps
- Edward Surovell Collection of Native American Languages
Keywords
- Biography
- Commerce
- Education
- Frederic Baraga
- Government relations
- Languages
- Missions
- Mixed descent
- Peter Jones
- Religion
- Relocation
- Shawnee Indians
- Social life and customs
- Territory
- Treaties
- Wars
- Industrial schools
Digital Resources
Digitized Archival Collections
Other Digital Resources
- Online Exhibit: “No, not even for a picture”: Re-examining the Native Midwest and Tribes’ Relations to the History of Photography
- Online Exhibit: American Encounters: Native American History at the Clements Library
- Article in Quarto #8: Native American Voices: Selections From The British Indian Department Correspondence
- Quarto #21: French and Indian War
- Quarto #23: Please Come to the Table
- Quarto #27: The Old Northwest
- Quarto #32: Native Americans
- Quarto #37: Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic
- Quarto #52: The Best of the West
- Article in Quarto #58: Faw Faw’s Dream Coats
- Article in Quarto #58: Resistance Etched in Steel
- The American Magazine and Historical Chronicle: Volume 2, No.1
- YouTube Playlist: Native American History at the Clements
- Blog post: Empire and Encounter at Detroit: Native Nations, Native Labor
- Blog post: Looks Can Be Deceiving: Issues Regarding 19th-Century Native American Photographs
- Blog post: Empire and Encounter at Detroit
Last Updated 10/30/26