American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Maps may be treated as scientific tools; they may also serve as historic documents. In Indian affairs there is no dearth of maps; in fact, the cartographic record, however rendered and preserved, began almost as early as the European encounter with native Americans. Such maps have taken various forms: field sketches as by missionaries, military personnel or others; exploratory maps and surveyors' plats; and maps rendered as part of, or subsequent to, treaties of land cession. The bulk of relevant maps of Indian distributions and occupancy, however, seem to belong to those that are reconstructions based, in part, on archaeological investigations, knowledge of native informants, field observations, the scanning of firsthand observations of others through letters, diaries and reports, and the interpretative abilities of map makers. While the majority of maps relate to ethnogeography, they also reflect the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the administration of tribal lands for a period spanning more than one hundred and fifty years. Maps of Indian affairs focus on land and resources, and they represent a wealth of data awaiting the interested researcher. Although such maps may incorporate some aboriginal knowledge, rarely has Indian cartography contributed to this official record, which has been compiled, surveyed and authenticated by non-Indian. Thus our current cartographic depiction of Indian tribes, their migrations and culture traits, as well as territoriality and contemporary trust lands, reflect the multiple origins of the data and the mixed purposes for which the maps have been prepared.