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Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Related to Native American History

An Overview


Summary

Abstract

This guide is an overview of the Massachusetts Historical Society collections that contain information by or about Native Americans.

Introduction

The collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society contain a wealth of manuscripts and other materials by and about North America's Indigenous peoples. This guide is intended to provide researchers with an overview of the materials available about Indigenous lives, society, governance, and history at the Society. It does not represent a detailed inventory of all collections items related to Indigenous history, nor does it include published materials, but is a preliminary survey of unique materials organized thematically.

The identity of Indigenous persons, groups, or nations recorded in these materials is often unknown. Many sources refer to Indigenous people only as "Indians" or refer to them using outdated and/or derogatory designations. Where known, a tribal affiliation or nation will be specified in our cataloging and finding aids. "Native American" will be used when a specific affiliation is impossible to determine, or when materials may be speaking about individuals from multiple nations and groups. "Indigenous" will be used as a descriptor.

With few exceptions, the collections of the Society represent the records and viewpoints of the Europeans who colonized North America and thus tend to portray this colonization as positive "progress" rather than violence, theft, and genocide against Native peoples.

To find more information on these resources or to request materials described in this overview, readers may consult several MHS resources. The Society's online catalog, ABIGAIL, available at mjlc.c178.net, contains collection-level descriptions of the Society's manuscript collections and most of the photograph collections. Published and unpublished manuscript and photograph collection guides contain more detailed information than the descriptions found in ABIGAIL. Many of the collection guides are fully searchable at the MHS website (mjlc.c178.net/collection-guides), and more are added on a regular basis. The collection-level records in ABIGAIL also indicate if there is a collection guide available for the collection. Copies of the paper collection guides that have not yet been converted to electronic format are available in the MHS reading room.

The manuscript card catalog contains descriptions of approximately 320,000 individual items; very few of these appear in ABIGAIL. The published Catalog of Manuscripts of the Massachusetts Historical Society (G. K. Hall, 1969; 1980 supplement), available in more than 150 U.S. libraries, consists of photocopies of these item catalog cards. Although almost all of the collection-level descriptions in the Catalog have been revised or superseded in ABIGAIL, the published catalog remains a useful guide for descriptions of more than 300,000 individual manuscript items. The MHS card catalog, now available on microfiche in the Society's reading room, contains the cards in the published Catalog, as well as many additions and corrections.

Detailed Description

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Preferred Citation

When using the items described in this guide, researchers should cite the collection containing the item.

Access Terms

For information about the collections and items described in this guide, consult ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. In addition to the headings below, search the catalog under headings beginning with the phrase Indians of North America, as well as the names of specific Indigenous Nations and languages.

Subjects:

Indians of North America--Artifacts.
Indians of North America--Government relations.
Indians of North America--History.
Indians of North America--Massachusetts--History.
Indians of North America--Photographs.

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