RESOURCE: Indigenous Digital Archive’s Treaties Portal

The Indigenous Digital Archive’s Treaties Portal, a new resource from the National Archives (NARA) and the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, launched on Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 12, 2020). This website provides public access to digital copies of NARA’s series of ratified Indian Treaties.

According to a blog post from the Archivist of the United States, the portal provides access to the more than 300 treaties made between the United States and Indigenous nations. The website includes a host of resources, such as “classroom ready” curriculum and a set of three video workshops by Professor of Law Librarianship Sherri Thomas (Taos Pueblo and Black). The “How-To” workshops cover “Treaties – What Are They?”, “Treaties – Historical Context”, and “Research You Can Do with the DigiTreaties Treaties Explorer”. Closed Captioning and transcripts are also available.”

Spatial visualizations of “cessions” — historic maps of land transfers, now digitized and interactive — are available on the site. The project is part of the broader Indigenous Digital Archive.