Indian Maps Mapping And Geographic Knowledge Native American Spaces

Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help. Maps drawn by Indians and Indian mapping abilities have been documented in a number of sources, but because of their ephemeral nature, relatively few Indian-created maps exist today. The indigenous population was often sought out by European explorers to guide or provide geographical information about unknown lands, and Indian guides were also often enlisted to provide reconnaissance data for military and commercial... The cartographic and geographic information provided by Indian guides could appear in the explorer's report and might eventually be incorporated into published maps.

Maps drawn by Indians, as well as evidence of their contributions to European-created maps, are valuable and rare documents for studying Indian peoples' geographical knowledge and spatial understanding. They complement the oral record, and they also help establish and clarify the Indians' role as guides and informants in furthering European explorations in North America. The Geography and Map Division does not have original examples of Native American cartography that pre-date European contact, but it has two eighteenth-century manuscripts created by Indians for use by Europeans and a few... The maps in this section have been digitized by the Library and are available for viewing and download online. Select the link on the map or in the caption to view a copy of the map that can be enlarge to view the detail. Mathematician Thomas Harriot and artist John White were among the first English colonists settled at Roanoke Island in 1585.

Their manuscript map of the Outer Banks was revised and engraved by Theodore de Bry, and published in 1590 to accompany his reprint of Harriot's A briefe and true report of the new found... The map covers the North Carolina Coastal Plain, including the Chesapeake Inlet, Pamlico and Albermarle sounds, and Roanoke Island, and extends westward to the sources of the rivers of the sounds. It includes information derived directly from Native American sources and observations, such as the names and locations of Native American villages, most palisaded as in their actual construction; pictorial representations of individual Indians, taken... This map, based upon a three-month survey by boat by Captain John Smith and a small party of colonists, is the first published map of the Chesapeake Bay region. The copy here accompanied the 1624 edition of Smith's The generall Historie of Virginia. Sailing up the major rivers flowing into the bay from the west, Smith and his party encountered numerous Native American villages, in the process recording their names and populations.

The legend on the map and its concomitant symbols differentiates between areas and features that have been discovered by the English and those learned about by Native American informants. Indeed, the Maltese crosses on each river indicates the extent of the party's actual personal knowledge, versus the remainder reported as being taken from instructions furnished to them by local Indians. A cartouche in the upper left hand corner illustrates the chief of the Powhatan federation of Indians in council. Maps must be used critically. They potentially function as colonial artifacts and represent a very particular way of seeing the world – a way primarily concerned with ownership, exclusivity, and power relations. There are a ton of issues when it comes to using maps.

If not attended to, maps may prove more harmful than valuable. Conceptualization of space is only one tool that was used to create three basic entities on paper to help shape and redefine the indigenous perspective of space: The concept of mapping has had a tremendous impact upon indigenous peoples for centuries. Since it was first developed, the indigenous ways of orienting themselves on their lands were redefined. As soon as lines were drawn on maps by European hands, indigenous place names, which are intricately connected with indigenous history, stories, and teachings, were replaced with English names, erasing indigenous presence from the... Traditional homelands were divided and classified into different geographic features, properties and imperial nations states, dividing and separating indigenous families.

Languages and cultural teachings were lost as children were forced to attend residential schools and learn western ways of knowing. Smith, L. (2021) Decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous peoples. London [England]: Zed Books. To the colonized, the term 'research' is conflated with European colonialism; the ways in which academic research has been implicated in the throes of imperialism remains a painful memory. This essential volume explores intersections of imperialism and research - specifically, the ways in which imperialism is embedded in disciplines of knowledge and tradition as 'regimes of truth.' Concepts such as 'discovery' and 'claiming'...

This page highlights cartography produced by and for Native American or Indigenous peoples. There may be more materials available, whether here in the Northwestern University Libraries' collection or in other libraries, but this is the beginning of an effort to raise awareness and use of these materials. In addition to these materials the collections include many maps and atlases about Native American and Indigenous peoples that are not listed here representing territories, reservations, histories, cultures, languages, and more that have been... To view these maps, please email govinfo@northwestern.edu and make an appointment. The map cases are locked and located in an unstaffed area of the University Library (Lower Level, Room B190). Carapella, Aaron.

Aboriginal First Nations : Our Own Names & Locations. Aaron Carapella, 2013. Government Info Map Collection Lower Level Room B190 G3401.E1 2013 .C37 Carapella, Aaron. Native American Nations : Our Own Names & Locations. Aaron Carapella, 2013.

Government Info Map Collection Lower Level Room B190 G3701.E1 2013 .C38 Carapella, Aaron. Proposed Pipelines in Tribal Homelands. Tribal Nations Maps, 2016. Government Info Map Collection Lower Level Room B190 G3301.P4 2016 .C37 This section of the guide suggests specific geographic and mapping resources related to Indigenous peoples, Indigenous land sovereignty, and treaties.

It is important to note that most geographic names and categories are often different from the placenames Indigenous peoples use for their ancestral lands. Not all tribes offer public access to mapping of their lands, as tribal land information is proprietary. For example, the Uintah and Ouray are a sovereign nation and do not share their maps with the public. Please consult tribal governments directly with requests for mapping. Native Americans had different mapping traditions. Their traditions were not based on the precise measuring of physical space.

They were based on how much time it took to travel, what happened along the way, and what was important to remember about places. The maps were narratives that reflected the seasons of the year and events. Some of the maps were histories of the people. Lewis and Clark did not always understand the premise of Indian maps. They were interested in the physical design of the maps, but not the conceptual design. In their pursuit of the physical aspects of the land, they ignored the significance of the land to Native peoples.

Drawing from a Native American skin map, circa 1825 Raymond Wood Illinois State Museum Click image to enlarge. Forms of Indian Map Lewis and Clark were making maps for use by the American government and future settlers and traders. They provided records of land features, to be filled in with details as they were learned. The maps of Native Americans were conceptual and historical. Native Americans made some tangible maps, but they were often ephemeral in form. In 1810, when talking to Nicholas Biddle, Clark said that “Indian maps made on skins or mats may be given to you, by individuals, but are not kept permanently among them.

Sometimes in sand, hills designated by raising sand, rivers by hollows, etc.” (Jackson, v.1) The form of map Clark was describing was a drawing or diagram etched in sand on the ground. The sand was piled up to indicate hills, and dug down for river channels or trails. Landmarks such as large boulders or villages were indicated. After the conversation or relay of information was complete, the maps were left to erode away.

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