Northwest Native American and Tribal History: Home
A brief guide to archival, primary sources and other resources about Northwest Native American and First Nations' history and culture, with a focus on the holdings of Western Libraries' Heritage Resources programs.
Introduction
This guide suggests useful resources for studying the history of Native American history and culture in the Pacific Northwest, with an emphasis on resources available through Western Libraries' Heritage Resources programs. It is not exhaustive and many of the resources listed are local or regional in focus. Contact Western Libraries Research Desk or Heritage Resources' staff if you need assistance finding more information.
Related Research Guides
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Indian Treaties: Information at Western LibrariesGuide to government documents and published resources available at Western Libraries.
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Native American Records in the National ArchivesIntroductory guide to records available through the National Archives, with links to related resources.
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Research and Resources on Fish and FishingGuide to archival and other resources available via Western Libraries' Heritage Resources programs.
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U.S. Census Bureau: Facts on the American Indian and Alaska Native PopulationsLinks about census information on American Indian and Alaska Native Populations, and background on census classifications by ethnicity and race.
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U.S. Census Bureau: American Indian and Alaska NativeLinks about census information on American Indian and Alaska Native Populations, including federally recognized Tribes.
More Campus Connections
WWU offers a variety of courses in Native American studies. Check out the WWU Course Catalog for more information.
Resources from the Western Libraries Catalog
This is a very brief list of titles frequently accessed by our researchers - many additional resources can be accessed via the Western Libraries Catalog. Please Ask Us if you need assistance.
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A Stó:lō-Coast Salish historical atlasCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection - Oversize G1172.F7E1 S8 2001
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The Canoe Rocks: Alaska's Tlingit and the Euramerican frontier, 1800-1912 byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E99.T6 H55 1996Also @ Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Reference Room E99.T6 H55 1996
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Chilliwacks and Their Neighbors byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E99.C5523 W45 1987Also located @ Archives Building--Washington State Archives--NW Regional Branch Reference Room E99.C5523 W45 19
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The Duwamish, Lummi, ... [et al] versus the United States of America byCall Number: Available at Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.W3 D8
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History of Lummi Fishing RightsCall Number: Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E99.L95 N79
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History of Lummi legal action against the United StatesCall Number: Wilson 4W - Books KF8228.L95 N83Also Available at Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection KF8228.L95 N83 and Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Vertical Files (Folder 250 )
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Indians, fire, and the land in the Pacific NorthwestCall Number: Available at Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.N77 I53 1999"Drawing on historical journals, Native American informants, and botanical and forestry studies, the contributors to this book describe local patterns of fire use in eight ecoregions, representing all parts of the Native Northwest from southwest Oregon to British Columbia and from Puget Sound to the Northern Rockies"
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Indians in the making: ethnic relations and Indian identities around Puget Sound byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.W3 H37Also located @ Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Reference Room E78.W3 H37 1999
"...offers the first comprehensive account of these meetings, from the land-based fur trade of the 1820s to the Indian fishing rights activism of the 1970s. This history shows how notions of Indian identity - both Indian and non-Indian - changed as relations changed. " -
Indians of Skagit CountyCall Number: Available at Western Library Wilson 3W - Books E78.W3 S24General history, New religions, Individual history for the eleven tribes, Swinomish reservation, Indian legends, Stories, oration by Chief Seattle, The Point Elliot (Muckilteo) treaty.
Also at: Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.W3 S24 and Archives Building--Washington State Archives--NW Regional Branch Reference Room E78.W3 S24 -
Listening to our ancestors: the art of native life along the north pacific coastCall Number: Available at Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.N78 L58 2005"in a series of community self-portraits, cultural figures from eleven Northwest Coast nations discuss the ways in which these masterpieces, as well as everyday tools and utensils from the museum's collections, connect them with their forbears, who made and used these beautiful objects. Kwakwaka'wakw Chief Robert Joseph and the community curators contrast the approach anthropologists and art historians have taken to the treasures of the Northwest with Native people's perspective on their cultural legacy."
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Lummi elders speak byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E99.L95 L86 1999Also located @ Archives Building--Washington State Archives--NW Regional Branch Reference Room E99.L95 L86 1999
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Lummi Indian census rolls for selected years between 1885-1912, and 1950Available at Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Reference Room.
Photocopy of typed material copied from microfilm reproductions of originals housed at the National Archives. Typed documents and text written by Howard Buswell; includes handwritten annotations by Buswell throughout. -
Lummi Indians of Northwest WashingtonCall Number: Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Reference Room E99.L9Publication Date: 1934Also in: Heritage Resources--Special Collections Rare Book Collection E99.L95 S8
The cycle of life, Tribal culture, Legend and lore. -
Native peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: who we areCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.W3 N37 2002Also @ Archives Building--Washington State Archives--NW Regional Branch Reference Room E78.W3 N37 2002
"The Native tribes of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula share complex histories of trade, religion, warfare, and kinship. Yet few books have depicted the indigenous people of this region from a Native perspective. " -
Otter skins, Boston ships, and China goods: the maritime fur trade of the Northwest Coast, 1785-1841Call Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection HD9778.5.S4153 N74 1992The dominant economic activity in the area. The Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Nootka, Salish, and Chinook spent much of their time hunting fur-bearing animals and trading their pelts - especially the highly prized "black skins" of sea otters - to Russian, British, Spanish, and American traders for metals, firearms, textiles, and food. Gibson's new.
Interpretations derive from his use of Western primary sources that have been largely ignored by previous investigators; Russian-language sources not consulted by others; the records of the Russian-American, East India, and Hudson's Bay companies; the unpublished logs and journals of a number of American ships; and the business correspondence of several New England shipowners. -
Peoples of the sea wind: the native Americans of the Pacific CoastCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.P2 B76Nine accounts of the old time life of various Indian tribes of the Pacific northwest coast, including chapters on the Tlingit, Kwakiutl, Tsimshian, Coast Salish and Nootka.
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The Power of promises: rethinking Indian treaties in the Pacific NorthwestCall Number: Available at Western Library Wilson 3W - Books E78.N77 P68 2008
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Schooling of the Lummi Indians between 1855-1956Call Number: Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E99.L95 N85
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The Swinomish totem pole: tribal legendsCall Number: Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E99.S21 S25Publication Date: 1938Also at: Heritage Resources--Special Collections Rare Book Collection E99.S21 S25
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To Fish in Common: the ethnohistory of Lummi Indian salmon fishing byCall Number: Available at Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E99.L95 B68 2000Also @ Heritage Resources--Special Collections The Western Collection Boxberger, D.L.
& @ Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Reference Room E99.L95 B68 2000 -
Traders' Tales: narratives of cultural encounters in the Columbia Plateau, 1807-1846 byCall Number: Available at Western Library Wilson 4C - Northwest Collection E78.C63 V52 1997Also @ Archives Building--Washington State Archives--NW Regional Branch Reference Room E78.C63 V52 1997
"As the earliest "ethnographic" accounts of the Native peoples of northern North America, fur-trade records have long been mined for data by legal researchers, historians, and anthropologists. Traders' Tales provides the first sustained critical analysis of these fascinating historical documents." -
Ways of the Lushootseed People: ceremonies & traditions of northern Puget Sound First People.Call Number: Available at Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest StudiesReference Room E99.S21 W39 2001
Databases
Western Libraries provides access to a wide variety of article and research databases (a WWU log-in is required). In addition to the examples listed below, please see the Libraries' online guide to Databases A-Z and/or ask staff at the Libraries' Research Consultation Desk for assistance. On campus access only for community users. The WWU community may access on or off campus.
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America: History and Life [EBSCO]An index of over 1,800 journals from 1895 to the present on the history and life of the United States and Canada. Includes citations and links to books and media reviews.
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EBSCO Multi-Database SearchSearch all EBSCO databases at once, or click "choose databases" to customize the databases included in your search.
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Ethnic News WatchEthnic NewsWatch is available as two resources, Ethnic NewsWatch™, which is a current collection, and Ethnic NewsWatch: A History™, which is an historical collection.
Ethnic NewsWatch™, covers 1990 to present and includes newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives with national and regional coverage. Ethnic NewsWatch™ is devoted to presenting multi-ethnic and multi-cultural publications in one resource. Coverage begins in 1990 and is updated daily with new content.
Ethnic NewsWatch: A History™, the historical file covering the years 1959-1989, offers a rare collection of over 30 full-text titles, focusing on African American, Hispanic American, and Native American presses from 1959-1989.
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JSTOR [ITHAKA]A multi-disciplinary full-text database of articles from many scholarly journals. Content available is usually 1-5 years behind the most recently published journal article. Also contains some current journals and books.
Heritage Resources
Heritage Resources
Contact:
Special Collections, 6th Floor Wilson Library, 360-650-3193
University Archives and Records Management, Goltz-Murray Building, 360-650-3124
Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Goltz-Murray Building, 360-650-7534
Website
University Archives and Records Management, Goltz-Murray Building, 360-650-3124
Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Goltz-Murray Building, 360-650-7534
Heritage Resources
OUR MISSION
Western Libraries Heritage Resources provides for responsible stewardship of and access to unique and archival resources in support of teaching, learning and resarch at Western Washington University and beyond. The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Special Collections, and University Archives and Records Management work together to document the culture and history of Western, the local community and Pacific Northwest region, and to promote public and scholarly access to holdings.