The Duke Indian Oral History Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, began in 1966 under the direction of professor of anthropology Edward M. Bruner. Conducted through the University of Illinois’ Department of Anthropology, field workers primarily consisted of graduate students who studied the lives of Indigenous peoples, both contemporary and historical. Almost all of the communities involved were located outside of Illinois, and they range across the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada.
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Represented Indigenous peoples include:
- Alutiiq/Sugpiaq
- Anishinabe of Wauzhushk Onigum Band
- Bishop Paiute Tribe
- Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana
- Chemehuevi Indian Tribe
- Cherokee Nation
- Chiricahua Apache Nation
- Coast Salish
- Cowichan Tribes
- Lummi Nation (Lhaq'temish)
- Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation
- 'Na̱mg̱is First Nation
- Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw
- Stó:lō Nation—including
- Ts’elxwéyeqw Tribe
- Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
- Yakama Nation
- Cocopah Indian Tribe
- Cowichan Tribes
- Cree
- Crow Tribe of Indians (Apsáalooke)
- Eastern Shoshone
- Fort Belknap Indian Community
- Fort Mojave Indian Tribe
- Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
- Gila River Indian Community
- Havasupai Tribe
- Healy Lake Village
- Hopi Tribe of Arizona
- Hualapai Tribe
- Kwakwaka’wakw
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
- Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indians
- MHA (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) Nation
- Narragansett Indian Tribe
- Native Village of Nunapitchuk
- Navajo Nation
- Nekaneet First Nation
- Nez Perce Tribe
- Northern Arapaho
- Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
- Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi
- Obashkaandagaang First Nation
- Oglala Lakota Tribe
- Oneida Indian Nation
- Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma
- Passamaquoddy Tribe
- Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
- Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi of Iowa
- Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe
- San Carlos Apache Tribe
- St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
- Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota
- Tligit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
- Tsoyaha (Yuchi) Indigenous People
- Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska
- Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
While spending time in Native communities, researchers learned about and gathered materials relating to the lives of the Native people in those communities, including their identities, customs, histories, music, politics, religions, media, art, education, economics, and lands. Almost three dozen University of Illinois researchers’ work was funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. From this research, an archives of almost 50 boxes were created. The archives contain, but is not limited to, correspondence, microfilmed and photocopied documents, news clippings, publications, field notes and diaries, photographs, maps, oral history and interview tapes, music recordings, recorded events, and transcriptions.
Browse our digital heritage items here.
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University of Illinois Archives
Room 146 Library
1408 W. Gregory Dr. | Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217)333-0798
Email: illiarch [at] illinois.edu
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University of Illinois Archives
Doris Duke Oral History Program Archives Record
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Banner Image: Crow Fair, August 1970 - aerial view of campgrounds
(Image description: Grayscale aerial photograph of the Crow Fair campgrounds, dance arbor in center of photo)