Resources for History Day.
These are only examples.
New England governments recognized tribes and conducted legal business with them during the Colonial Period, so that many historical documents are not under the Federal Government's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), but with the colony and/or state. Ask a librarian for help with this.
Many of the documents regarding recognition of tribes in the State of Connecticut are held in the Law Vault.
Note on language: The Connecticut State Library has resources from many different time periods and historic language is reflected in them.
These are examples of some of the resources available from the Connecticut State Archives.
Much of this information is not available online. It is recommended to contact the History & Genealogy desk before coming to visit, as items need to be pulled from secured collections.
Learn how to request and use archival collections.
Subscription databases require a card from the Connecticut State Library for remote access.
These are only a few suggestions - it is always recommended to search our catalog for additional sources.
PLEASE note publication dates - historic items may contain some terms that today’s readers may consider obsolete and inappropriate.
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by
"Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally-recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. Now historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. In An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, Dunbar-Ortiz challenges the founding myth of the United States and shows how policy against the Indigenous peoples was colonialist and designed to seize the territories of the original inhabitants, displacing or eliminating them. And as Dunbar-Ortiz reveals, this policy was praised in popular culture, through writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Walt Whitman, and in the highest offices of government and the military. As the genocidal policy reached its zenith under President Andrew Jackson, its ruthlessness was best articulated by US Army general Thomas S. Jesup, who, in 1836, wrote of the Seminoles: "The country can be rid of them only by exterminating them." Spanning more than four hundred years, this classic bottom-up peoples' history radically reframes US history and explodes the silences that have haunted our national narrative."--Publisher's description.
Treaties with American Indians: an Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty [3 Volumes] by Annual Reports for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Annual Reports for the Secretary of the Interior
Federal Indian law.
United States. Department of the Interior. Office of the Solicitor. ; Cohen, Felix S., 1907-1953.
Publication: Washington : United States Government Printing Office 1958
Connecticut State Library Law Vault KF8205 .C6 1958
Handbook of Federal Indian law : with reference tables and index
Cohen, Felix S., 1907-1953. ; Ickes, Harold L. (Harold LeClair), 1874-1952.; Margold, Nathan R.; United States. Department of the Interior. Office of the Solicitor.
Washington, D.C. : U. S. Govt. Printing Office 1942
Earlier editions also avaialble
Connecticut State Library Law Vault KF8205 .C6 1988
Cohen's handbook of federal Indian law.
Cohen, Felix S., 1907-1953. ; Newton, Nell Jessup.
San Francisco, CA : LexisNexis 2012
Earlier editions also available
Connecticut State Library Law Vault KF8205 .C6 2012 plus Pocket Part
Treaties with American Indians an encyclopedia of rights, conflicts, and sovereignty
Fixico, Donald Lee, 1951-
Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO c2008
Connecticut State Library Stacks KF8203.6 .T74 2008
The encyclopedia of Native American legal tradition
Johansen, Bruce E. (Bruce Elliott), 1950-
Westport, Conn : Greenwood Press 1998
Connecticut State Library Stacks KF8204 .E53 1998
Survey of Conditions of the Indians in the United States
1929
Online through HeinOnline American Indian Law Collection. Requires a library card from Connecticut State Library.
Survey of conditions of the Indians in the United States hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Indian affairs
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs.
Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1929-1944
Connecticut State Library Newspaper Room Microfiche E93 .U55 1929a
Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties (Kappler)
Online through HeinOnline American Indian Law Collection. Requires a library card from Connecticut State Library for remote access.
Indian affairs : laws and treaties
United States. ; Kappler, Charles Joseph, 1868-1946.; United States. Department of the Interior.
Washington : U.S. G.P.O. 1904-
Connecticut State Library Federal Documents I 1.107:6
Indian affairs : Laws and treaties
United States. ; Kappler, Charles Joseph, 1868-1946.; United States.
New York : AMS Press 1971, i.e. 1972
Connecticut State Library Stacks KF8203 1972
Supplement to Kappler's Indian affairs, laws and treaties : compiled federal regulations relating to Indians
United States. ; Kappler, Charles Joseph, 1868-1946.; United States.
Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of the Interior 1975
Connecticut State Library Federal Documents I 1.77:K 14
Kappler revisited : an index and bibliographic guide to American Indian treaties
Bernholz, Charles D. ; Kappler, Charles Joseph, 1868-1946.
Kenmore, N.Y. : Epoch Books c2003
Connecticut State Library Stacks KF8201.A1 B47 2003
A Different Mirror by
Lib Guides: "Describes the immigrant experiences of Japanese, African, Irish, and Jewish Americans, exposing the abuses suffered by Native Americans, slaves, and workers who built the country."
Annotated bibliographies list resources on a specific topic and include notes, or annotations, about the resource. They are not full text or research indexes. But they can be very helpful.
See also pages on Military.
These resources reflect Native Americans who served in the military, and their interactions with military.
Much of the information will be in our secured collections. Contacting the History & Genealogy Unit is recommended.
Check our guide:
This section is for when just "Pequot" is used, and not more specific names.
The Life of William Apess, Pequot by 
Revenge of the Pequots by On June 24, 2002, The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb gave final determination finds that there is a single tribe composed of the Eastern Pequot Tribe (petition #35) and the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Tribe (petition #113). See link below.
Medicine Trail: the Life and Lessons of Gladys Tantaquidgeon by
"Blending autobiography and history with traditional knowledge and ways of life, Medicine Trail presents a collage of events in Gladys Tantaquidgeon's life. We see her childhood spent learning Mohegan ceremonies and healing methods at the hands of her tribal grandmothers, and her Ivy League education and career in the white-male-dominated field of anthropology. We also witness her travels to other Indian communities, acting as both an ambassador of her own tribe and an employee of the federal government's Bureau of Indian affairs. Finally we see Tantaquidgeon's return to her beloved Mohegan Hill, where she cofounded America's oldest Indian-run museum, carrying on her life's commitment to good medicine and the cultural continuance and renewal of all Indian nations." "Written in the Mohegan oral tradition, this book offers a unique insider's understanding of Mohegan and other Native American cultures while discussing the major policies and trends that have affected people throughout Indian Country in the twentieth century. A significant departure from traditional anthropological "as told to" American Indian autobiography, Medicine Trail represents a major contribution to anthropology, history, theology, women's studies, and Native American studies."--BOOK JACKET.
Governor and Company of Connecticut, and Moheagan Indian by Their Guardians
Uncas : First of the Mohegans by During the Pequot Wars, defeated tribes were dispersed and/or sent to Caribbean as well as enslaved by colonists.
See also Previous Topics guide.
A History of Connecticut's Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe by
LibGuides: "From triumphs to tragedies, A History of Connecticut's Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe vividly recounts the long lost history of southwestern Connecticut's Paugussett tribe. Since the arrival of Columbus, Native Americans have endured countless hardships. Like all of New England's indigenous people, western Connecticut's Paugussett tribe has suffered injustice and fought determinedly to preserve their cultural identity. In A History of Connecticut's Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe, author Charles Brilvitch passionately chronicles the tribe's struggles and fascinating history through the Victorian era to the present, and traces their traditions and ongoing determination to preserve an irreplaceable and vanishing culture."
Please be advised that some of these resources--particularly those created in previous eras--contain descriptions for ancestral, racial, ethnic, and gender identity that may be offensive or harmful to individuals investigating these records, and are considered inappropriate to use in modern times. The descriptions and treatment of historically marginalized groups, women, and animals may be upsetting. Also, please note that inclusion in this subject guide does not necessarily constitute endorsement of the views therein--we encourage investigators to use their own judgment when evaluating books, websites, articles, documents, and other resources.
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