The digital collection American Indians of the Pacific Northwest integrates photographs and text relating to the American Indians in two cultural areas of the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest Coast and Plateau. To provide context for the digitized materials, particularly for teachers wishing to use this collection in the classroom, ten essays were commissioned from anthropologists, historians, and teachers. These essays include study questions and are illustrated with materials from the collection.
Some essays feature specific tribal groups in the region.
Others cover topics that relate to several American Indian groups, such as salmon fishing and the boarding schools established by the United States government starting in the 1880s. Most of the photographs date from before 1920. Primary text sources include six Indian treaties negotiated in 1855 and over 3,800 pages from the Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior from 1851 through 1908. Secondary sources include 89 articles from the Pacific Northwest Quarterly and 23 papers from the University of Washington Publications in Anthropology series. A few additional photographs and articles were sought from other institutions and added to the collection to complement the topical essays.