Research Guides: Indigenous Resources: Arts

Databases

ARTstor
Digital Library provides over 1.5 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities and sciences. It includes an accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research. Our community-built collections comprise contributions from outstanding international museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives, and artists and artists' estates.
National Film Board of Canada- Aboriginal Peoples Channel
Streaming video archive, is available for personal use subject to the notices on their site.
North American Indian Drama
This edition of North American Indian Drama contains 256 plays by 49 playwrights. More than half of the works are previously unpublished, and hard to find, representing groups such as Cherokee, Métis, Creek, Choctaw, Pembina Chippewa, Ojibway, Lenape, Comanche, Cree, Navajo, Rappahannock, Hawaiian/Samoan, and others.

North American Indian Thought and Culture
Contains over 119,000 pages of text and images. Included are biographies, auto-biographies, personal narratives, speeches, diaries, letters, and oral histories. The database represents the largest compilation ever created of biographical information on indigenous peoples from all areas of North America.

This database represents the largest compilation ever created of biographical information on indigenous peoples from all areas of North America. North American Indian Thought and Culture contains around 120,000 pages of text and images, including biographies, auto-biographies, personal narratives, speeches, diaries, letters, and oral histories. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched thoroughly. Full-length reference works also are included to give background and context to the narratives.

Online Resources

Native Art Network
We feature authentic Traditional and Contemporary Native American Art of the highest quality. We represent individual Native American artists and families from the United States and Canada. We are 100% Native American owned and operated.
National Museum of the American Indian
Is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world's most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego.
Aboriginal Art Online (Australian)
Contemporary Aboriginal art is a vital part of the world's oldest continuous cultural tradition. It is also one of the most brilliant and exciting areas of modern art. You can experience this richness by selecting from our range of quality paintings and limited edition prints by Aboriginal artists - together with information and comment to help understand the art works.
Carriers of Culture- Living Native Basket Traditions
The Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Michigan State University Museum, in collaboration with Native American basketmakers' organizations across the country, will launch a multi-year, multi-faceted celebration of the rich, living Native basket traditions of North America and Hawaii.

Books

Sakahàn : International Indigenous Art by Hopkins, Candice. Lalonde, Christine, National Gallery of Canada.
Call Number: N6351.2.I53 H55 2013
Publication Date: 2013
The Making of Asmat Art: Indigenous Art in World Perspective by Nick Stanley
Call Number: N7326.I48 S736 2012
ISBN: 9781907774201
Publication Date: 2012
Art in the Time of Colony by Khadija Carroll La
Call Number: N 7401 .C365 2014
ISBN: 9781409455967
Publication Date: 2014
Coded Territories: Tracing Indigenous Pathways in New Media Art by Steven Loft (Editor); Kerry Swanson (Editor)
Call Number: N6549.5 .A54 C63 2014
ISBN: 9781552387061
Publication Date: 2014
Drawing with Great Needles: Ancient Tattoo Traditions of North America by Aaron Deter-Wolf (Editor); Carol Diaz-Granados (Editor)
Call Number: GT2346 .N6 D73 2013
ISBN: 9780292749122
Publication Date: 2013-11-15

Authentic Native Art (Resources, Legislation etc..)

U.S. Department of the Interior - Indian Arts and Crafts Act 1990
It is illegal to offer or display for sale, or sell any art or craft product in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian Tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization, resident within the United States.
Contemporary Issues about Native American Art
A collection of annotated links discussing Authenticity, Consumer Information, Laws etc...
The Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association Inc.
An association of antique American Indian and Tribal art dealers dedicated to authenticity, integrity, and honoring the artistic legacy of indigenous people.

Library Contact

Charles Ransom

Email Me

Contact:

4006 Shapiro

734-764-7522

Repatriation and Appropriation

National Congress of American Indians
NCAI is deeply concerned with the repatriation of Native American human remains and funerary objects, the vigorous enforcement of the Indian Arts & Crafts Act, and the revitalization of Native languages.
National Museum of the American Indian - Repatriation
NMAI repatriation history, 6 steps of repatriation, process and more.
Native Appropriations
Native Appropriations is a forum for discussing representations of Native peoples, including stereotypes, cultural appropriation, news, activism, and more.

Introduction

Indigenous art books can be found in the Hatcher Graduate Library, Fine Arts Library and the Art Architecture & Engineering Book Collection (Duderstadt Center).