Native American Primary Resources: Collections at UB

Located at the Charles B. Sears Law Library, University at Buffalo. Howard Berman, an attorney and professor of American Indian law and rights of indigenous peoples, worked closely with the traditional Haudenosaunee [Six Nations, Iroquois Confederacy]. He was an avid collector of rare books on New York history and Indian affairs, and wrote extensively on indigenous rights and international law.

Located in the Charles B. Sears Law Library, University at Buffalo School of Law. The collection is rich in historical, anthropological and cultural sources. Researchers interested in cross-cultural issues in the legal context, human rights, or simply local historical background for legal disputes will find it useful.

Materials from the ongoing litigation of Onondaga Nation land claims in central New York State, Onondaga Nation v. New York, et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, Docket 05-CV-0314 include expert historical reports, an oral argument transcript, news articles, and papers filed with the court. The Nation does not seek eviction of landholders or damages but a declaration that New York illegally took the land from the Onondagas in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Nation's expressed motivation is to participate in and encourage full environmental clean-up of Onondaga Lake and the surrounding area.

Located in the Charles B. Sears Law Library, University at Buffalo. This collection includes official court filings and decisions, expert reports and maps, and background research materials prepared during the New York Attorney General's defense of the Grand Island and Oil Springs Reservation land claims.

The Anthropology Research Museum houses collections of North American archaeology including ceramics, lithic (stone) and bone artifacts, in addition to a modest collection of ethnographic and biological materials. Although the museum was formally opened to the public in 1979, the idea for the Museum dates back to the 1960s when the late Dr. Marian White (1921-1975), a well-known archaeologist in New York State and professor of anthropology at UB, laid the groundwork for establishing a departmental museum.

The library houses an extensive, non-circulating collection of mostly anthropological books and journals. Included are a large number of textbooks, journals, ethnographic items, and most of the Anthropology Department student theses. Articles may also be put on reserve here for use in department classes and can be accessed by anyone during library hours.