The titles below link to "finding aids," or guides to archival collections, that are available online at ArchivesSpace at CU Boulder, a catalog of over 1,600 collections at the CU Boulder Libraries' Archives.
Please note that collections are non-circulating and must be used in the Rare and Distinctive Collections Reading Room in Norlin Library. Please contact rad@colorado.edu to make an appointment.
Brent Michael Davids scores, circa 1985-2000. 2 linear feet (1 box). Musical scores written by American composer Brent Michael Davids (b. 1959), a member of the Stockbridge Munsee Community.
Charles Cambridge papers, circa 1970-1980. (COU:292) 60 linear feet (53 boxes). This collection contains the papers of Charles Cambridge (born 1946), an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, archaeologist, anthropologist, and former faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Oyate Indian Club records, 1973-1992. (COU:3226) 1 linear foot (1 box). This collection contains materials documenting the Oyate Indian Club's activities on the University of Colorado Boulder campus from 1973-1992.
Archival collections are unique, often rare and one-of-a-kind, primary sources that document people, places, organizations, and events in history. Examples of archival materials include letters, diaries, photographs, moving image films, sound recordings, or organizational papers. Collections of these materials are usually held in public (and private) museums, libraries, and archives, such as the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries' Archives.
In this section, we have selected archival collections from the CU Boulder Libraries' Archives that contain materials created by or significantly documenting Indigenous scholars, students, and tribal members. We have also listed other online, digital collections of archival resources documenting Indigenous Knowledge, as well as Indigenous culture, language and history, that are created and/or maintained by Indigenous people.
Archives have traditionally been places of power and privilege, where the stories and histories of Indigenous people were excluded from the historical record or recorded through the white man's gaze. It is therefore important to note that many of these materials are created by non-Indigenous people and organizations and reflect the power dynamics that shaped relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. You may come across language in our collections or online resources that is harmful or offensive. These materials document that time period in which they were created and demonstrate the views of their creator. As a result, some contain oppressive, biased, and marginalizing language that does not reflect the values of the CU Boulder Libraries. Many of these records reflect the harm and trauma of colonization, including the oppression, dispossession, assimilation, murder, and knowledge appropriation of Indigenous peoples. Other records demonstrate powerful cross-cultural relationships between workers, scholars, and others in various fields and industries as individuals and organizations collaborated to achieve shared goals.
