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Native American & Indigenous Studies

A general library research guide for Native American & Indigenous Studies at UMass Amherst.

Microforms

Microforms for Native American Indian Studies

Microforms are books, journals or other items that are printed in miniaturized form on rolls, sheets of transparent plastic or opaque sheets. Those that are in long rolls are called microfilm, while those that are on small rectangular sheets are called microfiche. The white opaque sheets are called microprints and microcards. Microforms are used because they allow materials to be preserved in non-paper format and conserve storage space.

Each of the forms require special machines to be read. There are readers available for all formats in the Microforms Department of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library. Microforms is open all hours that the library is open, continually staffed and ready to assist you.

There are many specialized collections housed in the Microforms unit, and many items of potential interest to the Native American Indian Studies researcher.

Selected Microforms for Native American Indian Studies

Census of Creek Indians (Parsons and Abbott), 1832 UM/Microform Storage D 237 Census records of principal chiefs and heads of families of the Creek tribe. Counts males, females and slaves. Manuscript index by towns at beginning of the reel.

Census Roll, 1835, of the Cherokee Indians East of the Mississippi and Index to the Roll UM/Microform Storage D 171 Lists figures for such categories as number of farms, ferry boats, slaves, readers in English, and weavers.

The Constitutions and Laws of the American Indians 1976 UM/Microform Storage 3714. Contains 157 printed constitutions, statutes, session acts and resolutions passed by 13 American Indian tribes and nations. The collection is based on A Bibliography of the Constitution and Laws of the American Indians, by Lester Hargrett (Ref. Z 1209. H28 1976). Items filmed in the order in which they are listed in the bibliography. Accompanied by guide: Contents of the Microform Edition (shelved separately: Ref. Z 1209 H281).

Council Meetings of the Major American Indian Tribes, 1907-1971 UM/Microform Storage 7033. 52 reels. For a guide to the council meetings see Ref Z 1209. M24.

Dance in Seventeenth Century Massachusetts with Particular Reference to Indian, Puritan and Anglican Cultures by Joan English UM/Microcard 1

Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory: (as approved by the Secretary of the Interior on or before March 4, 1907, with supplements dated September 25, 1914) UM/Microform Storage D 80 3 reels. Listing of "Indians by blood." Includes age, sex, and blood ratio of Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokee, Creek and Seminoles. Not in alphabetical order.

Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 UM/Microform Storage D 111, 692 reels. Agents in charge of reservations submitted census rolls each year, as required by an act of Congress in 1884. However, we do not have a census for each reservation or group of Indians for every year, as some tribes were not under federal jurisdiction. Information usually given includes English and/or Indian name of the person, roll number, age or date of birth, sex, and relationship to head of family. Rolls are arranged alphabetically by the name of the agency or other jurisdiction and thereunder by years. Later rolls are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the family's head.

Pamphlets in American History. Indians. Microfiche series with 1,516 items. Includes:

For further information on the materials in the microforms collections, contact Melinda McIntosh (413-545-6802; mmcintosh@library.umass.edu).