June 25 1876 Indians defeat Custer at Little Big Horn

Government Information Quarterly

Volume 25, Issue 3, July 2008, Pages 520–540

Congressional hearings: Neglected sources of information on American Indians

• Robert A. Staley 

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doi:10.1016/j.giq.2007.08.005

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Abstract

Over the past three decades, discussion of government documents on American Indians has emphasized federal agency documents and archival records. Despite the fact that Congress has the ultimate authority in Indian affairs, document librarians have not explored the considerable research potential of hearings as a format for information. This article will show, with examples from early twentieth century legislative and oversight hearings, that there is significant untapped research content on American Indians in congressional hearings.

Keywords

• American Indians; 
• Congress; 
• Plenary power; 
• Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; 
• Crow Indian Reservation; 
• Survey of Conditions of Indians in the United States

Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Robert A. Staley is the Documents Coordinator for the University of Wyoming Libraries. He has a B.A. from Gettysburg College, an M.A. from the University of Manitoba, and an M.L.S. from the University of Pittsburgh.