Oral History and Research Resources
On this page you will find resources relating to conducting Indigenous oral histories, resources on information about Indigenous peoples, and proper protocols for Indigenous archival materials.
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If you know of any resources that are not listed on this page, please contact me at so that I may update this page to be as accurate and helpful as possible.
By Charles E Trimble, Barbara W Sommer, and Mary Kay Quinlan
Oral history is a widespread and well-developed research method in many fields—but the conduct of oral histories of and by American Indian peoples has unique issues and concerns that are too rarely addressed. This essential guide begins by differentiating between the practice of oral history and the ancient oral traditions of Indian cultures, detailing ethical and legal parameters, and addressing the different motivations for and uses of oral histories in tribal, community, and academic settings. Within that crucial context, the authors provide a practical, step-by-step guide to project planning, equipment and budgets, and the conduct and processing of interviews, followed by a set of examples from a variety of successful projects, key forms ready for duplication, and the Oral History Association Evaluation Guidelines. This manual is the go-to text for everyone involved with oral history related to American Indians.
Library of Congress Research Guides
The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects and preserves the firsthand interviews and narratives of United States military veterans from World War I through the present. This includes collections relating to Navajo Code Talker veterans. Comprised primarily of oral histories, these collections document the personal stories of individual Code Talkers.
This guide will introduce VHP's holdings related to the Navajo Code Talkers. VHP is a public participation program, and as such, this guide is not meant to be an exhaustive history of the Code Talkers or the events of World War II, but rather to help you explore VHP's related collection materials, to assist users in navigating our online database, and provide some ideas for further research.
Please select the menu option Code Talker Profiles from the navigation menu to view biographical summaries and oral history interviews from the Code Talkers who have participated in the Veterans History Project.
First Archivist Circle
Native American communities are sovereign governments. Tribes had their own traditional governments prior to European invasion. These governments maintain their own territories, their own laws, and their own legal restrictions surrounding cultural issues. Most Native American communities have federal recognition, while others hold state recognition. In Canada, many Native American communities have a similar status through federal treaties or provincial acknowledgement. Native Hawaiians are accorded special status by both federal law and state law. A number of federal laws in the United States specifically address both cultural and human rights of Native Americans and their communities. While we share a common commitment to the preservation and dissemination of knowledge, archivists and librarians should understand and respect Native American rights and laws, which are recognized in the United States Constitution. These statuses and associated rights form the basis of the principles behind the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials.
University of California Berkeley Library
Primary sources including national archives, California archives, and online finding aids for Native American Studies.
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
From 1966-1975, Doris Duke provided funding to seven universities to collect 6,500 oral histories from indigenous people in the United States. Recognizing the high value of the materials held within the collections, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has appointed the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) to serve as the National Coordinator to work with the seven universities and Native communities to improve culturally appropriate access to the Collections, provide the originating communities with copies of all materials collected, ensure proper care of the original materials; and promote and encourage use of the Collections.
Oklahoma Historical Society
From exposure to misrepresentations found in movies and other forms of popular culture, most non-Native peoples possess impoverished and stereotyped ideas about the verbal arts practiced among the Native peoples of Oklahoma and on the North American continent at large. In contrast to the sad speeches of lamentation memorialized in film and literature, American Indian oral tradition is diverse, vibrant and, in almost all its manifestations, an affirmation of community and individual well-being and identity. Regardless of their diverse backgrounds, Oklahoma Indian communities all value speaking as a social practice, and the ability to speak in and about tribal tradition is highly valued.
University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
Native American history initiatives at SPOHP have focused on tribal history in the Southeast, archiving hundreds of interviews with the Catawba, Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Lumbee, Seminole, and Pamunkey since 1967.
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Page includes archival collections at UF about Indigenous people, ongoing research about tribal history initiatives, and Native American history events and research news.
Indian Country Today
News article about "a major effort is getting underway at several universities, tribal museums and libraries around the U.S. to digitize the oral histories of thousands of Native Americans that were collected a half century ago as part of a project initiated by the late philanthropist Doris Duke."
Library of Congress Blogs
LOC blog post in the Teaching with the Library of Congress forum about celebrating all Native American veterans, not just the Navajo Code Talkers. This post provides resources on how to best teach about these veterans using primary source material.
All Good Tales.
Storytelling is an ancient and intimate tradition between the storyteller and their audience. Over time, how we tell a story has evolved but the key elements have remained unchanged.
That’s not to say we all tell stories the same way. Each culture will tell the same story differently, because each one has its own genres and cultural rules. These cultural rules have led to a host of different traditions and practices beloved around the world. In this series, we explore the importance of traditional storytelling across various cultures.
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
From 1966-1975, Doris Duke provided funding to seven universities to collect 6,500 oral histories from indigenous people in the United States. Recognizing the high value of the materials held within the collections, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has appointed the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) to serve as the National Coordinator to work with the seven universities and Native communities to improve culturally appropriate access to the Collections, provide the originating communities with copies of all materials collected, ensure proper care of the original materials; and promote and encourage use of the Collections.
This page has information on University Repositories, Native Community Information, Volunteering, Publications, and Media Releases.
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
Native communities represented in the Doris Duke native American Oral History Collection, organized alphabetically and labeled by which University interviewed which tribal group.
​***Native community names are as they appear in the collections and may not reflect current terms.***
Christopher Newport University
Primary resource guide on Native American materials from Christopher Newport University. The page contains a subpage with information about Indigenous oral histories.
Smithsonian
The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Archive Center actively acquires and serves as a repository for the records of contemporary Native American artists, writers, activists, and organizations. In addition, the Archive Center holds the records of the NMAI’s predecessor institution, the Museum of the American Indian (MAI), Heye Foundation.
The Archive Center supports the mission of the museum by collecting, organizing, preserving, and making available papers, records, photographs, recordings, and ephemera that reflect the historical and contemporary lives of Native peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere. The archival collections are particularly focused on Native art, culture, knowledge, politics, events, and social and political movements. They also complement the NMAI’s object collections and are used for scholarly research, exhibitions, journalism, documentary productions, and other research, educational, and Native community activities.
Marjane Ambler, Tribal College, Journal of American Indian Higher Education
Article from the Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education that discusses why documenting Indigenous oral histories is so important and the role oral histories can play in contemporary research and education.
Crowley Digital Preservation Solutions
This article from Crowley discusses the Doris Duke Native American Oral History Revitalization Project, the University of New Mexico's Oral History Collection, and how they are working to digitize these oral histories in order to revitalize the stories and give power and control back to the Native communities the histories were recorded from.
Sofie Echeverry, The Independent Florida Alligator
This article from the Independent Florida Alligator is about the Doris Duke Oral History Project revitalization, which will digitize the thousands of oral histories recorded in the 1960s and 1970s and allow the tribes to watch and listen to their tribe’s stories once more.
Storytelling is Vital to Many Indigenous Cultures, but Preserving Oral Traditions can be Challenging
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Caroline Long, Utah Public Radio
This interview from Utah Public Radio covers why storytelling is so important to many Indigenous cultures, but how getting tribe members and community members to get interested in the stories and participate in the oral history collection can be difficult. This article brings in the audio medium that oral histories use while also incorporating an article with the information from the interview.
Elizabeth Lowman, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Seminole Tribe of Florida
This paper covers general beginner information on oral histories as well as in depth information about Native Americans, recording native oral histories, and the oral tradition in Native cultures.
Dominican University, Rebecca Crown Library
This libguide from Dominican University has an informative section on Native American oral traditions and a section on books that deal with Native American mythology.
Alexander Sotto, Arizona State University
This libguide is another resource guide that provides reference material to Indigenous oral history collections and other primary sources on the topic.
National Museum of the American Indian, Native Knowledge 360
Use this Helpful Handout as an introduction to the rich tradition of Native American stories and their role within Native communities. Stories develop listening skills, memory, and imagination, and they support social and emotional learning to develop the whole child. Storytelling is an integral part of traditional Native education systems. Today, many Native artists, illustrators, authors, and poets also use books and prose to share contemporary experiences with the world.
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Angela Cavender Wilson, Perspectives on History, American Historical Association
This is an informative article about the discrepancies between the Native histories told by tribal elders and what of that history actually makes it into the history books. Recording oral histories are a great way to reconcile these differing perspectives and bring the hidden stories to light in a lasting way.
Tristan Picotte, Partnership with Native Americans
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This blog post offers a brief introduction into storytelling and its role in Native American cultures and communities as told from a Lakota tribe member.