Indigenous groups assignment
In this assignment, you are looking for resources on an indigenous group from a specific location. You'll also be looking at how your group performed resistance to and/or interacted with Europeans and what's going on with that group today. Finally, you'll be connecting past and present.
Many of the resources on this page are also on the general page, but there will also be some specific tips for finding sources for your assignment.
We highly recommend using EbscoBooks! Instructions are in the first column below!
UHS sources
Gale ebooksYou can search our whole Gale encyclopedia collection which covers topics about indigenous groups.
EBSCO booksEBSCO is an online database which gives you access to thousands of books. Try searching "indigenous people" and your geographical region.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowOnce your research is underway, you can search this database of academic journals to get more specific information. Use narrow search terms to start with, for example, the indigenous tribe name and your geographic region.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American HistoryTry browsing by subject (upper left) - Colonial History and Native American History, could be useful. You can also search within the encyclopedia on the upper right.
Books in the UHS library - indigenous groupsWe have many books about Native American history. You can search the catalog using "Indians of North America" for a broad list of results - be sure to scroll through the results. Alternately, try focusing down by searching "Native Americans" and your group's name or region. You can also come into the library and we'll show you where to browse.
SFPL sources
You will need your SFPL card and PIN to access these. If you don't remember yours you can ask Nicole or Hayley or you can use the chat function on the SFPL site to talk to a librarian under Support & Services.
Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America by Publication Date: 2014SFPL has a number of excellent and relevant encyclopedias. Unfortunately they are all only available in print and many of them are only available at the Main Library.
- U.S. History in Context (requires SFPL card) This link opens in a new window
Online sources
As well as looking at the general links below, try searching your tribal group in Google. You'll find many good sources from those tribes as well as links to museums and historical societies. Remember that Wikipedia cannot be one of your sources.
- American Indian TreatiesFrom the National Archives, this site accesses original treaties in chronological order as well as supporting documentation.
- IDA Treaties ExplorerWhile treaties between Indigenous peoples and the United States affect virtually every area in the USA, there is as yet no official list of all the treaties. The US National Archives holds 374 of the treaties, where they are known as the Ratified Indian Treaties. This site provides access to all of these treaties for the first time.
- Nation to Nation from the National Museum of the American IndianView original treaties between the United States and Native Nations.
- Native LandBy selecting "Treaties" in the top right-hand corner rather than "Territories" you can see the Cession numbers or treaties related to particular areas in the United States and Canada.
- Oklahoma State Tribal Treaties DatabaseThe Tribal Treaties Database provides an easy-to-use portal to access treaties, agreements, and other historical documents that have shaped relationships between tribal nations and the United States.