Native American Studies

This full-text collection documents "interactions between American Indians and Europeans [in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico] from their earliest contact, . . .[through] the civil rights movement of the mid- to late-twentieth century." The documents are drawn from Edward E. Ayer Collection at the Newberry Library. Also includes maps and images, scholarly essays to provide context and bibliographies to suggest further reading.

A catalog and online archive of the indigenous languages of California, western North America, and the Americas

Full text letters, diaries, memoirs and accounts of early encounters, centered on present-day Canada and the United States with some limited coverage of Mexico. Includes information on the peoples, places, environment, flora and fauna encountered. Of note are more than 9,000 Audubon prints from "The Birds of America" as well as the complete contents of the three-volume "The Quadrupeds of North America".
[Coverage: 1534-1959]

Empire Online contains several thousand searchable scanned images of original documents relating to Empire Studies. Includes documents from English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and German points of view, and that from indigenous peoples from Africa, India and North America. Sections also include thematic essays by leading scholars in the field of Empire Studies.
[Coverage: 1492-present]

"The Indian Claims Commission was created by the Act of August 13, 1946 (605 Stat. 1060, 25 USC 70a et seq.) to hear claims of 'any Indian tribe, band, or other identifiable group of American Indians' against the United States. The Act provides broad grounds for recovery, including claims based on 'unconscionable consideration' for tribal lands which were taken and 'claims based on fair and honorable dealing not recognized by any existing rule of law or equity.'" (From the Index to Indian Claims Commission Decisions.)