Online Primary Sources

Manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books dating from the earliest contact with European settlers continuing through the turbulence of the American Civil War, the on-going repercussions of government legislation, right up to the civil rights movement of the mid- to late-twentieth century provide a unique insight into interactions between Indigenous peoples of North America and Europeans This resource contains material from the Newberry Library’s extensive Edward E. Ayer Collection. Browse through a wide range of rare and original documents from treaties, speeches and diaries, to historic maps, newspapers, photographs and travel journals.
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Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the Environment documents the relationships among peoples in North America from 1534 to 1850. The collection focuses on personal accounts and provides unique perspectives from all of the protagonists, including traders, slaves, missionaries, explorers, soldiers, native peoples, and officials, both men and women. The project brings coherence to a wide range of published and unpublished accounts, including narratives, diaries, journals, and letters. Terms of Use

Distributed by ProQuest, Fold3 Library Edition by Ancestry provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. This continually-growing collection contains millions of records from world-class archives, many of which are exclusively available on Fold3. With content from the Revolutionary War onward, Fold3 Library Edition is an invaluable research resource for historians, genealogists, researchers, military enthusiasts, veterans and their families, teachers, and battle reenactors. Terms of Use

Collections from across Canadian and American institutions, providing insight into the cultural, political and social history of Native Peoples from the 17th into the 20th century. Including diverse manuscripts; book collections; newspapers from various tribe and Indian-related organizations; materials such as Bibles, dictionaries and primers in Indigenous languages.
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A primary-source collection of original historical documents pertaining to Native American history, culture, and life from the 18th through the 20th centuries. Includes the Cherokee Indian Agency (TN), Dawes Enrollment Cards, Dawes Packets, Eastern Cherokee Applications, Guion Miller Roll, Indian census Rolls 1885-1940, Rhinehart Photos, and Ratified Indian Treaties.

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ProQuest History Vault gives researchers what they need — with access to millions of pages of cross-searchable, full-text/full-image documents including articles, correspondence, government records, and more, documenting the most widely studied topics in eighteenth- through twentieth-century American history. Includes content from Women's Studies, Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle, Southern Life and African American History Plantation Records, and American Politics and Society: Temperance and Prohibition Movement. Terms of Use

North American Indian Thought and Culture brings together more than 100,000 pages, many of which are previously unpublished, rare, or hard to find. The project integrates autobiographies, biographies, Indian publications, oral histories, personal writings, photographs, drawings, and audio files for the first time. The result is a comprehensive representation of historical events as told by the individuals who lived through them. The database is an essential resource for all those interested in serious scholarly research into the history of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Canadian First Peoples. Terms of Use

From historic pressings to contemporary periodicals, explore nearly 200 years of Indigenous print journalism from the US and Canada. With newspapers representing a huge variety in publisher, audience and era, discover how events were reported by and for Indigenous communities. This resource has been developed with, and has only been made possible by, the permission and contribution of the newspaper publishers and Tribal Councils concerned. Terms of Use