[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

New Online Collection - Southeastern Native American Documents



GALILEO, the Digital Library of Georgia, the University of Georgia
Libraries, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville Library are pleased
to announce the availability of Southeastern Native American Documents,
1730-1842, an online collection of over 1000 documents related to the
history and culture of the Native American populations of the southeastern
United States.  The documents are from the collections of the University of
Georgia Libraries, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville Library, the
Frank H. McClung Museum, and the Tennessee State Library and Archives.  They
are comprised of letters, legal proceedings, military orders, financial
papers, and archaeological images.

To access the Southeastern Native American Documents collection online, go
to http://www.galileo.peachnet.edu, select "Digital Library of Georgia,"
then select "Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842."  If asked
for a GALILEO password, select "Public Databases" at the bottom of the
password screen.

The following press release contains more information about the Southeastern
Native American Documents project and collection.


Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2001

WRITER: Jean Cleveland, 706/542-8079, jclevela@uga.edu
CONTACT: Stephen Miller, 706/542-2131, sdmiller@uga.edu

ATHENS, Ga. --  An electronic collection of historical documents and images
related to the Native Americans of the Southeast is now available on the
World Wide Web via the GALILEO Digital Library of Georgia, revolutionizing
access to the materials for everyone from scholars to school children.

More than 1,000 documents are now accessible.  The number will double in
late 2001 thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, which provided funding for the digitization project. The Institute
recently agreed to provide a second grant of $204,000 to continue the work,
a cooperative venture involving GALILEO, the University of Georgia, the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville Library, the Frank H. McClung Museum,
and the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Documents from two additional
collections, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Tennessee State
Museum, also will be incorporated.

The selected documents represent the most significant holdings from each
collection and range in date from the early 1700s to the mid 1800s.  Users
can browse and search the online collection and view images of the original
documents as well as transcribed text.

"This project is an important component in the development of the digital
library," said Stephen Miller, director of the GALILEO Digital Library of
Georgia, a virtual collection of digitized books, images, manuscripts and
media with the emphasis on material important to the history and culture of
the state of Georgia. "Original manuscript material of this type and from
this time period only exists in paper form, buried within vaults and closed
stacks, available only to the persistent researcher. Digitization of these
materials provides access to a substantially larger audience, including many
groups which have never before had opportunities to use these documents or
even know of their existence."

The documents, selected by archivists at each participating institution,
communicate how Native Americans viewed the European settlers, both
positively and negatively, from the first contacts to the time when they
were forcibly removed from their lands. They range from treaties to
bureaucratic correspondence between the tribes and federal agents to modern
archaeological records. While the bulk of the materials in the collection
are related to the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes,
many other tribes such as the Catawbas, the Delawares, the Osages, the
Yamacraws, and the Uchees are also represented.

"In addition to being a fantastic step forward for the Digital Library of
Georgia, these grants allow us to accomplish something of national
significance," Miller said. "The importance of native tribes in the early
history of America has been universally acknowledged, but primary sources
remain scarce, especially for students below the college level and for the
general public."

Additional information about the Native Americans of the Southeast can also
be accessed via the site, including a historical overview, which provides an
introduction to the culture, an extensive list of suggested readings, and
links to other sites.

"We didn't want to just throw the information out there; we wanted to
provide some context for the material," Miller said. "But the history of the
Southeastern Indians is more expansive and complicated than any summary or
overview can convey. The primary lesson the documents on this site teach us
is that no single version of 'history' can prevail. The overwhelming
complexity of these peoples, this era, and these events urges us to
appreciate the fact that many histories emerge from documents such as we
have presented."

To access the Southeastern Native American Documents collection online, go
to http://www.galileo.peachnet.edu, select "Digital Library of Georgia,"
then select "Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842."  If asked
for a GALILEO password, select "Public Databases" at the bottom of the
password screen.  The Southeastern Native American Documents Collection and
the Digital Library of Georgia are made available through GALILEO (Georgia
Library Learning Online), sponsored by the University System of Georgia
Board of Regents.




Stephen Miller
Director, Digital Library of Georgia
Main Library 4th Floor
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602
Ph: 706.542.3003
Email:  sdmiller@uga.edu

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>