The Association on American Indian Archives

Since its founding in 1922, the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) has promoted the rights of more than 300 Native American tribes throughout the United States. Over the course of its history, the Association has stood on the forefront of battles for Native American rights, from protection of land and water resources and the right of self-determination to the right to worship freely and to secure equal educational opportunity for their children. The work of the Association has embraced eight areas of concern to Native Americans: education, economic development, health and sanitation, land tenure, irrigation, preservation of culture and religion, tribal sovereignty, and youth. Among its major achievements was its role as catalyst for the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978. The Association on American Indian Affairs Archives document the role of this important twentieth-century Native American advocacy organization. This microfilm edition of the Archives is filmed from the holdings of the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University. The Archives, which include materials dating from 1922 to 1983, are one of the most comprehensive research collections on the struggles of Native Americans in the twentieth century. Correspondence, minutes, reports, articles, clippings, and other printed materials provide a wealth of valuable information for researchers. Most of the records are unique and cannot be found in any other collection. To cite just one example, rare materials from 1920s and 1930s illuminate early efforts in the pursuit of Native American rights, which in turn influenced many later initiatives.