Diversity in Our Collections

"Interrogating the concept of environmental justice in the U.S. as it relates to Indigenous peoples, this book argues that a different framework must apply compared to other marginalized communities, while it also attends to the colonial history and structure of the U.S. and ways Indigenous peoples continue to resist, and ways the mainstream environmental movement has been an impediment to effective organizing and allyship"-- Provided by publisher

"Provides a balanced, comprehensive view of how the actions and attitudes of Indian agents affected the lives of the Mission Indians of Southern California from 1850 to 1903." -- Provided by the publisher.

"A balanced and readable account of the 1791 battle between St. Clair's US forces and an Indian coalition in the Ohio Valley, one of the most important and under-recognized events of its time"-- Provided by publisher.

"This book highlights the contributions and careers of Native Americans who have carved impressive careers in Hollywood and become advocates for their own heritage"-- Provided by publisher.

Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers are underrepresented in public schools across the United States of America, with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color making up roughly 37% of the adult population and 50% of children, but just 19% of the teaching force. Yet research over decades has indicated their positive impact on student learning and social and emotional development, particularly for Students of Color and Indigenous Students. A first of its kind, the Handbook of Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers addresses key issues and obstacles to ethnoracial diversity across the life course of teachers’ careers, such as recruitment and retention, professional development, and the role of minority-serving institutions. Including chapters from leading researchers and policy makers, the Handbook is designed to be an important resource to help bridge the gap between scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. In doing so, this research will serve as a launching pad for discussion and change at this critical moment in our country’s history. The volume’s goal is to drive conversations around the issue of ethnoracial teacher diversity and to provide concrete practices for policy makers and practitioners to enable them to make evidence-based decisions for supporting an ethnoracially diverse educator workforce, now and in the future.

This unique reader presents a broad approach to the study of American Indians through the voices and viewpoints of the Native Peoples themselves. Multi-disciplinary and hemispheric in approach, it draws on ethnography, biography, journalism, art, and poetry to familiarize students with the historical and present day experiences of native peoples and nations throughout North and South America–all with a focus on themes and issues that are crucial within Indian Country today.

The issue of Native American mascots in sports raises passions but also a raft of often-unasked questions. Which voices get a hearing in an argument? What meanings do we ascribe to mascots? Who do these Indians and warriors really represent? The authors go beyond the media bluster to reassess the mascot controversy. Their multi-dimensional study delves into the textual, visual, and ritualistic and performative aspects of sports mascots. Their original research, meanwhile, surveys sports fans themselves on their thoughts when a specific mascot faces censure. The result is a book that merges critical-cultural analysis with qualitative data to offer an innovative approach to understanding the camps and fault lines on each side of the issue, the stakes in mascot debates, whether common ground can exist and, if so, how we might find it. -- Provided by publisher.

This book captures the entrepreneurial stories and mindsets of contemporary Native Americans.Native American entrepreneurs are important contributors to the American economy and social landscape. Faced with numerous challenges, many Native American entrepreneurs have learned to transcend tough obstacles, leverage resources, and strategically pursue opportunities to achieve business success.

Jessica Stern presents a thoroughly researched and engaging study of the deerskin trade in the colonial Southeast, equally attentive to British American and Southeastern Indian cultures of production, distribution and consumption. Stern upends the long-standing assertion that Native Americans were solely gift givers and the British were modern commercial capitalists.

"The organizing principle for this anthology is the common Native American heritage of its authors; and yet that thread proves to be the most tenuous of all, as the experience of indigeneity differs radically for each of them. While many experience a centripetal pull toward a cohesive Indian experience, the indications throughout these essays lean toward a richer, more illustrative panorama of difference. What tends to bind them together are not cultural practices or spiritual attitudes per se, but rather circumstances that have no exclusive province in Indian country: that is, first and foremost, poverty, and its attendant symptoms of violence, substance abuse, and both physical and mental illness ... Education plays a critical role in such lives: many of the authors recall adoring school as young people, as it constituted a place of escape and a rare opportunity to thrive ... While many of the writers do return to their tribal communities after graduation, ideas about 'home' become more malleable and complicated."

"Indians Illustrated is a social and cultural history of Indian illustrations in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Harper's Weekly, and other illustrated journals during the last half of the nineteenth century, the heyday of the American pictorial press. The pictorial press era, spurred in the mid-1850s by the transportation revolution, innovations in printing technology, and an expanded literary and pictorial market, was marked by a proliferation of detailed, realistic woodblock engravings, pictures of newsworthy people and interesting events from across the nation and the world. The pictorial press frequently depicted Indians and Indian life in popular but narrowly conceived ways. In pictures, Indians were simplified and presented in familiar and easily understood categories, usually as variations on the 'good' Indian/'bad' Indian stereotypes long established in Euro-American culture. Indian men were depicted as 'tall and copper-colored, with braided hair, clothed in buckskin, and moccasins, and adorned in headdresses, beadwork and/or turquoise' while Indian women were depicted as either Indian princesses or squaws. John Coward argues that these pictures helped create and sustain a host of popular ideas and attitudes about Indians, especially ideas about the way Indians were supposed to look and act. By describing and analyzing the various themes and visual tropes across the years of the illustrated press, this book provides a deeper understanding of the racial codes and visual signs that white Americans used to represent Native Americans in an era of western expansion and Manifest Destiny"--Provided by publisher.

With a new and more inclusive perspective for the growing field of queer Native studies, this book provides a genealogy of queer Native writing after Stonewall. Looking across a broad range of literature, the text offers an overview and guide to queer Native literature from its rise in the 1970s to the present day. This book recovers ties between two simultaneous renaissances of the late twentieth century: queer literature and Native American literature.

Offers full coverage of Native American athletes and athletics from historical, cultual and indigenous perspectives, from before European intervention to the 21st century. There are entries devoted to broader cultural themes, and how these affect and are affected by the sport.

The film industry and mainstream popular culture are notorious for promoting stereotypical images of Native Americans: the noble and ignoble savage, the pronoun-challenged sidekick, the ruthless warrior, the female drudge, the princess, the sexualized maiden, the drunk, and others. Over the years, Indigenous filmmakers have both challenged these representations and moved past them, offering their own distinct forms of cinematic expression. Native Americans on Film draws inspiration from the Indigenous film movement, bringing filmmakers into an intertextual conversation with academics.

Native American literature explores divides between public and private cultures, ethnicities and experience. In this volume, Joseph Coulombe argues that Native American writers use diverse narrative strategies to engage with readers and are 'writing for connection' with both Native and non-Native audiences.Beginning with a historical overview of Native American literature, this book presents focused readings of key texts including: N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony Gerald Vizenor's Bearhea

For decades, most American Indians have lived in cities, not on reservations or in rural areas. Still, scholars, policymakers, and popular culture often regard Indians first as reservation peoples, living apart from non-Native Americans. In this book, Nicolas Rosenthal reorients our understanding of the experience of American Indians by tracing their migration to cities, exploring the formation of urban Indian communities, and delving into the shifting relationships between reservations and urban areas from the early twentieth century to the present.

In Reproductive Justice, sociologist Barbara Gurr provides the first analysis of Native American women's reproductive healthcare and offers a sustained consideration of the movement for reproductive justice in the United States. The book examines the reproductive healthcare experiences on Pine Ridge Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota--where Gurr herself lived for more than a year. Gurr paints an insightful portrait of the Indian Health Service (IHS)--the federal agency tasked with providing culturally appropriate, adequate healthcare to Native Americans--shedding much-needed light on Native American women's efforts to obtain prenatal care, access to contraception, abortion services, and access to care after sexual assault. Reproductive Justice goes beyond this local story to look more broadly at how race, gender, sex, sexuality, class, and nation inform the ways in which the government understands reproductive healthcare and organizes the delivery of this care. It reveals why the basic experience of reproductive healthcare for most Americans is so different--and better--than for Native American women in general, and women in reservation communities particularly. Finally, Gurr outlines the strengths that these communities can bring to the creation of their own reproductive justice, and considers the role of IHS in fostering these strengths as it moves forward in partnership with Native nations.

"The founding idea of "America" has been based largely on the expected sweeping away of Native Americans to make room for EuroAmericans and their cultures. In this authoritative study, David L. Moore examines the works of five well-known Native American writers and their efforts, since the nation's early days, to redefine an "America" and "American identity" that includes Native Americans. That Dream Shall Have a Name focuses on the writing of Pequot Methodist minister William Apess in the 1830s; on Northern Paiute activist Sarah Winnemucca in the 1880s; on Salish/Me;tis novelist, historian, and activist D'Arcy McNickle in the 1930s; on Laguna poet and novelist Leslie Marmon Silko; and on Spokane poet, novelist, humorist, and filmmaker Sherman Alexie in the latter twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Moore studies these five writers' stories about the conflicted topics of sovereignty, community, identity, and authenticity--always tinged with irony and often with humor. He shows how Native Americans have tried from the beginning to shape an American narrative closer to its own ideals, one that does not include the death and destruction of their peoples. This compelling work offers keen insights into the relationships between Native and American identity and politics in a way that is both accessible to newcomers and compelling to those already familiar with these fields."-- Provided by publisher

Crossing Mountains provides important insights about integrating Native-language learning into public education. Using case studies of school districts on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, Phyllis Ngai argues that carefully designed and inclusive Native-language programs can benefit communities and students regardless of ethnic identity.

"A balanced and readable account of the 1791 battle between St. Clair's US forces and an Indian coalition in the Ohio Valley, one of the most important and under-recognized events of its time"-- Provided by publisher.

Offering both in-depth analyses of specific films and overviews of the industry's output, Hollywood's Indian provides insightful characterizations of the depiction of the Native Americans in film. This updated edition includes a new chapter on Smoke Signals, the groundbreaking independent film written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre. Taken as a whole the essays explore the many ways in which these portrayals have made an impact on our collective cultural life.

Looking for a little mischief after finding an old flare gun, Ron and Ben suddenly find themselves in trouble when the local gas bar on Agamiing Reserve goes up in flames, and they are wrongly accused of arson by the sheriff's son. As the investigation goes forward, community attitudes are revealed, and the truth slowly comes to light.

La Voz De M.A.Y.O: Tata Rambo is based on the oral history of Ramon Jaurigue, an orphan and WWII veteran who co-founded the Mexican, American, Yaqui, and Others (M.A.Y.O.) organization, which successfully lobbied the Tucson City Council to improve living and working conditions for members of the Pascua Yaqui tribe. Thanks to this period of activism, the Yaquis were federally recognized as one of the remaining Native American tribes. Meanwhile Ramon's home life suffered as his focus was pulled from family to wider community, and from domesticity to the adrenaline of the campaign. A resonant, neglected slice of American history is told for the first time with art by J. Gonzo, letter art by Bernardo Brice, edited by Claire Napier, and La Voz de M.A.Y.O boasts a script by Henry Barajas the great-grandson of Ramon Jaurigue, a.k.a. Tata Rambo.

"Moonshot is a project that is a thrilling new collection that showcases diverse aboriginal representation in comic books. This is an anthology of stories about identity, culture, and spirituality told by writers and artists from a range of communities across North America including many creators that identify as Métis, Inuit, Dene, Anishnaabe, Cree, Mi'kmaq, Caddo, Haida, Sioux, and Suquamish, among others"--Foreword.

Multicultural Comics: From Zap to Blue Beetle is the first comprehensive look at comic books by and about race and ethnicity. The thirteen essays tease out for the general reader the nuances of how such multicultural comics skillfully combine visual and verbal elements to tell richly compelling stories that gravitate around issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality within and outside the U.S. comic book industry. Among the explorations of mainstream and independent comic books are discussions of the work of Adrian Tomine, Grant Morrison, and Jessica Abel as well as Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan’s The Tomb of Dracula; Native American Anishinaabe-related comics; mixed-media forms such as Kerry James Marshall’s comic-book/community performance; DJ Spooky’s visual remix of classic film; the role of comics in India; and race in the early Underground Comix movement. The collection includes a “one-stop shop” for multicultural comic book resources, such as archives, websites, and scholarly books. Each of the essays shows in a systematic, clear, and precise way how multicultural comic books work in and of themselves and also how they are interconnected with a worldwide tradition of comic-book storytelling.

"Echo Desjardins, a 13-year-old Métis girl adjusting to a new home and school, is struggling with loneliness while separated from her mother. Then an ordinary day in Mr. Bee's history class turns extraordinary, and Echo's life will never be the same. During Mr. Bee's lecture, Echo finds herself transported to another time and place--a bison hunt on the Saskatchewan prairie--and back again to the present. In the following weeks, Echo slips back and forth in time. She visits a Métis camp, travels the old fur-trade routes, and experiences the perilous and bygone era of the Pemmican Wars."

Far from the border of colonized space, a newly discovered planet teems violently with strange psychic life and puzzling telekinetic ecology. Vep, a refugee raised away from her devastated home planet as an indentured citizen in a foreign colony, is taken by a private military firm to assist in settling the new planet. What awaits her will test the limits of her will as she grapples with the strange power the planet exerts overher.

"There has been a great deal of writing the past several decades about Native American Code Talkers of World War Two. The published works have been about Navajos and the tremendous contribution they made in the Pacific campaigns of the war. What is often overlooked is the role played in both World Wars by men of other tribes. There were Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Creek and other tribal representatives with their languages involved as well. Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers, a graphic anthology of historically based stories, begins to fill that void. Seven stories -- two by the book's editor, Arigon Starr, dealing with Choctaw and Comanche code talkers, one by Roy Boney, Jr. on Cherokees, one by Johnnie Diacon on Creeks, and one by Jonathan Nelson on Navajos, plus stories from Lee Francis IV and Michael Sheyahshe -- provide an excellent rendering of the subject."

"Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact."-- from Publisher's website

"May, a young teenage girl, traverses the city streets, finding keepsakes in different places along her journey. When May and her kookum make these keepsakes into a necklace, it opens a world of danger and fantasy. While May fights against a terrible reality, she learns that there is strength in the spirit of those that have passed. But will that strength be able to save her? A story of tragedy and beauty, Will I See illuminates the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Based on the story by Iskwé and Erin Leslie."-- Provided by publisher.

This revelatory documentary brings to light the profound and overlooked influence of Indigenous people on popular music in North America. Focusing on music icons like Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Taboo (The Black Eyed Peas), Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Jesse Ed Davis, Robbie Robertson, and Randy Castillo, RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World shows how these pioneering Native American musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives.

This documentary focuses on the stories of Midwest Native American lawyers, tribal judges, and their colleagues who work with Native nations, their citizens, and mainstream institutions to achieve sacred justice. These unseen role models strive daily to address and resolve unique and complicated historical, governmental, legal, judicial, and social welfare issues, which most often are rooted in discrimination, historical trauma, and cultural destruction. It is a particularly timely and relevant program given the current reckoning with racial inequity and systemic racism.

Including but not limited to videos which celebrate and highlight Native American Heritage.

Academic Video Online delivers more than 68,000 titles spanning a wide range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. The collection represents content from over 800 leading distributors, producers, and filmmakers such as CNN, 60 MINUTES, PBS, BBC, Contemporary Arts Media, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Database
From historic pressings to contemporary periodicals, this collection includes nearly 200 years of Indigenous print journalism from the US and Canada. Topics covered include community news, public health and welfare, education, cultural promotion and language revitalization, and much more.

E-Journal

The Cleveland Indians. Washington Redskins. Atlanta Braves. What's wrong with American Indian sports mascots? This moving, award-winning film is the first of its kind to address that subject. In Whose Honor? takes a critical look at the long-running practice of "honoring" American Indians as mascots and nicknames in sports. It follows the story of Native American mother Charlene Teters, and her transformation into the leader some are calling the "Rosa Parks of American Indians" as she struggles to protect her cultural symbols and identity. In Whose Honor? looks at the issues of racism, stereotypes, minority representation and the powerful effects of mass-media imagery, and the extent to which one university will go to defend and justify its mascot.

Online and Print journal

Database
"This Web portal is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration"

Film
Native Americans had established a rich and highly developed tradition of oral literature long before the writings of the European colonists. This program explores that richness by introducing Native American oral traditions through the work of three contemporary authors: Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo), Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), and Luci Tapahonso (Navajo).

Film
Native American tribal lands along the Louisiana coast are washing away as sea levels rise and marshes sink. PBS NewsHour correspondent Hari Sreenivasan reports from Isle de Jean Charles, a community that is slowly disappearing into the sea. Original broadcast date: June 01, 2012

Film
The weapons and warfare of the Plains Indians of North America is a story of defiance and revenge. Proud fearless warriors waged battles against other tribes and against the white man. This episode explores how to win with the weapons of the Native Americans through demonstrations and re-enactments.

Streaming music.
Famous pow wow singers and drum groups of the Ojibway, the Blackfoot and the Mi’kmaq tribes, from Canada and the USA, present ceremonial and social songs and dances.

Streaming music
This album is representative of the vast variety of American Indian music found across the United States and Canada, and delineates the different regional musical styles in North America, including The Northwestern Coast, The Great Basin, The Plains, and the Eastern Woodlands.

Find more music by Native Americans in the Smithsonian Global Sound database.

Find contemporary music by Native Americans in the Contemporary World Music database.

Database
Covers United States and Canadian history and culture from prehistory to the present. Includes indexing of over 1,800 scholarly journals and magazines, dissertations, conference proceedings, and more.

Database
A compilation of the Anthropological Index Online and Anthropological Literature databases, this resource is an extensive index of bibliographic mate