Native American Studies Research Guide

National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institute. Good resources for Native American culture, by region, culture group, subject, collection, and NMAI exhibit.

In this virtual museum you will find information on and images of many different aspects of the cultural legacy of Texas, a legacy spanning at least 13,500 years.

A compilation of demographic information prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau, including data tables on social and economic characteristic, housing, and historical trends.

The official site of Bureau of Indian Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) provides information on a variety of topics, including BIA history, a directory of tribal leaders, and links to information about Native American ancestry and genea

The American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO) coordinates the Agency-wide effort to strengthen public health and environmental protection in Indian Country, with a special emphasis on building Tribal capacity to administer their own environmental program

A directory of federal government websites that feature information for or about Native Americans.

This resource explains the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Indian Bill of Rights.

Native American Rights Fund. A comprehensive collection of past and present Tribal governmental documents, and literature about Native legal issues.

A guide to current online and print resources for finding children's and young adult literature by Native Americans and/or about Native American culture. The guide is provided and maintained by the University of Illinois's Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library.

The National Indian Gaming Commission was created in 1988 with the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which was enacted to support and promote tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments through the operation of gaming on Indian lands. The Act provides a statutory basis for the federal regulation of Indian gaming. IGRA establishes the Commission to regulate and support tribal gaming as a means of generating revenue for tribal communities.

One way for tribal nations to exercise their sovereignty is to establish their laws and codes which govern their respective communities. This page provides links to tribes that list their own codes online.

The mission of the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions is to work for the preservation and protection of the culture and traditions of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation and other indigenous people of the Spanish colonial missions in south Texas and northern Mexico through: education, research, community outreach, economic development projects and legislative initiatives at the federal, state and local levels.

Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan Nation is a Tribal community of affiliated Bands and Clans of the Payaya, Pacoa, Borrado, Pakawan, Paguame, Papanac, Hierbipiame, Xarame, Pajalat, Tilijae nations, modernly known as Coahuiltecans. The traditional homeland consists by today’s political boundaries as Texas, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Northern Potosi. The Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation mission is to revitalize the language, culture, religion, and hegemony of our peoples.

The mission of the Comanche Nation is to define, establish and safeguard the rights, powers and privileges of the tribe and its members, to improve the economic, moral, educational and health status of its members and to cooperate with and seek the assistance of the United States in carrying out mutual programs to accomplish these purposes by all possible means and to promote in other ways the common well-being of the tribe and its membership. All the while working to improve economic status, protect and manage the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage.

NAISA began through exploratory meetings hosted by the University of Oklahoma in 2007 and by the University of Georgia in 2008, incorporated in 2009, and has since become the premiere international and interdisciplinary professional organization for scholars, graduate students, independent researchers, and community members interested in all aspects of Indigenous Studies.

The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA) was founded in December 1981 as the international scholarly organization representing American Indian linguistics, and was incorporated in 1997. Membership in SSILA is open to all those who are interested in the scientific study of the languages of the native peoples of North, Central and South America. The Society has approximately 900 members, more than a third of them residing outside the United States.

The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. With over 40 years of assisting American Indian Tribes and their enterprises with business and economic development – we have evolved into the largest national Indian specific business organization in the nation.

The National Congress of American Indians, founded in 1944, is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is a Federal law passed in 1990. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony -- to lineal descendants, and culturally affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. NAGPRA includes provisions for unclaimed and culturally unidentifiable Native American cultural items, intentional and inadvertent discovery of Native American cultural items on Federal and tribal lands, and penalties for noncompliance and illegal trafficking. In addition, NAGPRA authorizes Federal grants to Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and museums to assist with the documentation and repatriation of Native American cultural items, and establishes the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee to monitor the NAGPRA process and facilitate the resolution of disputes that may arise concerning repatriation under NAGPRA.

Incorporated in 1985, National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) is an inter-tribal association of 184 federally recognized Indian Tribes united with the mission of protecting and preserving tribal sovereignty and the ability of Tribes to attain economic self-sufficiency through gaming and other forms of economic development.

Established in 1967, the American Indian Law Center, Inc. (AILC) is the oldest existing Indian-managed and Indian-operated legal and public policy organization in the country serving to strengthen, promote, and honor self-sustaining American Indian and Alaska Native communities through education, training, and leadership.

The Native American Art Studies Association (NAASA) exists to encourage the ongoing study and exchange of ideas on Native American art north of the Rio Grande and including the First Nations of Canada.