Library Home: Ethnic Studies Research Guide: Primary Resources

About Primary Resources

Primary Resources - are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include:

Texts of laws and other original documents.
Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did.
Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote.
Original research.
Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics.
Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event.

Information from uMass Boston's Primary Resource Libguide

The United Farm Workers and the Delano Grape Strike

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) - The Delano Grape Strike grew from a long history of labor organizing and protest by Filipino workers in agriculture and canning on the West Coast. AWOC leaders asked the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), a mostly Latino farm workers union led by Cesar Chavez, to join their strike. The Delano Grape Strike was the first major collaboration between Filipino and Mexican workers, who had traditionally been recruited to work during the other group’s protest actions. In August 1966, the two organizations merged to form the United Farm Workers (UFW), a union committed to nonviolent protest that sought to organize migrant farm laborers to improve their wages, education, housing, and legal protections.

Native American and Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection - University of Washington Libraries
This site provides an extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics. These cultures have occupied, and in some cases still live in parts of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Maps are available that show traditional territories or reservation boundaries.
Archives of Native American Recorded History
The Archive of Native American Recorded History portal currently focuses on materials held in the Doris Duke Native American Oral History Collections, its flagship collection. Recordings and related materials on the portal are co-curated with the repositories holding the materials and the Native communities represented in the materials. Access is determined by the represented Native community. The review process is conducted by official Community Curation Teams designated by a tribal authority. Team members review the recordings for cultural sensitivities and determine the level of access. Recordings may be available to the public, restricted for tribal community use only, or restricted to specific community members. Community Curation Teams may expand their activities to include adding context and content to the existing collections, and translating, transcribing, and indexing the recordings. Community Curation Team members are appointed by tribal leadership and are authorized to act on behalf of the tribe. Community Curators have knowledge of cultural protocols and history.
Denver Public Library Digital Collections
Search by the keyword "Native American" to locate resources.
National Archives (Indian Census Rolls, 1885–1940)
Agents and superintendents at American Indian reservations annually submitted census rolls starting in 1885. These rolls include individuals and families who maintained a formal connection with federally recognized American Indian tribes.
The questions found on the Indian Census Rolls and the process for collecting the information were not standardized, and therefore vary between years, tribes, and agents and superintendents. Annual censuses were discontinued in 1940.
American Indian and Alaska Native Records in the National Archives
Researchers can find information relating to American Indians and Alaska Natives from as early as 1774 through the mid-1990s at National Archives locations throughout the country.
The National Archives preserves and makes available documents created by federal agencies in the course of their daily business. Because the U.S. government’s interactions with American Indians and Alaska Natives have changed over time, knowing the geographic place and time period of your research topic will help create a more positive research experience. As you plan your research, consider this question: how does my research topic intersect with the U.S. federal government?