OK State University Libraries: “Tribal Treaties Database Continues to Expand & Improve”

From Oklahoma State University Libraries:

The Oklahoma State University Library has partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense to build the “Tribal Treaties Database.” This free public resource is available at treaties.okstate.edu.

“This digital collection has been of great interest to citizens of Native American sovereign nations, researchers, journalists, attorneys, legislators, teachers and the public,” Dean of OSU Libraries Sheila Johnson said.

In 2021, the USDA and DOI approached the OSU Library to expand and enhance the library’s existing collection “Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties,” a digitization of the landmark work of Charles Kappler. As the project progressed, the DoD joined in funding later phases.

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The first phase of the project focused on creating a database of more than 300 U.S. government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883. The treaties were indexed and can be browsed by tribe, treaty or location. In subsequent phases, the OSU Library improved behind-the-scenes data management, expanded and improved the index, identified and began processing additional treaties, and met with partners to encourage feedback.

Each phase was funded at $50,000 each. The project recently entered its fourth phase with plans in place for at least three more stages. Future work is planned to continue adding treaties to the database, improve the user experience, and conduct listening sessions in conjunction with federal partners and Tribal Nations to verify research, understand needs, and identify future directions.

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Direct to  Tribal Treaties Database

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