Types of Collections

Oral Histories

• Media: tape (reel-to-reel, cassette) and other formats, including digital recordings for certain projects, recordings were not retained for every collection or interview audio may contain different content than transcript approved by interviewee.
• Transcriptions: available for most collections; frequently outsourced or produced in partnership historically, considered the primary document; may include edits & discrepancies.
• Photographs: from interviews and on-site gatherings; often produced by interviewer including portraits and images of cultural settings; not available for many projects.
• Manuscripts: involving administrative documents and program files primarily related to internal projects or collaborative efforts led at the University.
• Oral Histories access page
• Oral Histories digital exhibition

Legal and Governmental Papers

• Legal cases related to land and resource claims, Indian law and tribal representation.
• Documentation gathered by individual scholars from a variety of sources, or developed as part of specialist or legal involvement in cases (e.g., the Zuni Land Claims Cases Records, the E. Richard Hart papers, the Stephen G. Boyden Papers).

Archaeological Records

• Consisting of dissertations and theses as well as research information and media from projects in Sociology / Anthropology, available in printed works and archival documents.
• Images of burial sites, ritual objects, and location information are restricted from public access.
• Process of reviewing PLPCO permit number in response to requests for access (reviewed by Director of Archaeological Center and supported by NHMU collaborators)
• If the patron lacks a valid PLPCO permit, the Library’s evaluation process includes how much (if any) information can be given to a patron (e.g., images of petroglyphs without backs / captions).

Tribal Publications

• Newsletters, internal communications, and other archives produced by tribal communities.

Large-Format Materials

• Maps and other oversized documents related to land use, resource claims, and other data.

Secondary Publications

• Representations of tribal life and cultural practice, some related to University history.
• Internal publications including yearbooks, newspaper archives, clipping and vertical files, University publications, and related records housed within the repository.
• Rare and antiquarian publications related to historical interactions (governmental reports, news dispatches, details of scientific expeditions, popular accounts, and literature).
• Observatory or ethnographic depictions of individual figures, group settings, and cultural activities in a variety of formats, from the work of art photographers and photojournalists to collections of commercial postcards.
• Personal memorial documents such as scrapbooks containing images and details of travel or film and video recordings which are part of personal home movie collections.

Artifactual Holdings

• Limited number of objects, most which were donated to the Library together with archival or print collections, including blankets, baskets, figures, &c.