West North Central States (Midwest)

Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Resources in this category:

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress: Omaha Indian Music
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/omhhtml/

"Omaha Indian Music features traditional Omaha music from the 1890s and 1980s. The multiformat ethnographic field collection contains 44 wax cylinder recordings collected by Francis La Flesche and Alice Cunningham Fletcher between 1895 and 1897, 323 songs and speeches from the 1983 Omaha harvest celebration pow-wow , and 25 songs and speeches from the 1985 Hethu'shka Society concert at the Library of Congress. Segments from interviews with members of the Omaha tribe conducted in 1983 and 1999 provide contextual information for the songs and speeches included in the collection. Supplementing the collection are black-and-white and color photographs taken during the 1983 pow-wow and the 1985 concert, as well as research materials that include fieldnotes and tape logs pertaining to the pow-wow."

Birds and Mammals Observed by Lewis and Clark in North Dakota
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wildlife/bmam/index.htm

This site gives a detailed account of all of the birds and mammals that the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition observed in North Dakota. Actual expedition records were consulted in creating this website.

Iowa State Archives
http://www.iowahistory.org/archives/index.html

The function of the State Archives of Iowa (a division of the State Historical Society of Iowa) is to document the rights of citizens, the actions of state officials, and the state experience. The State Archives works to ensure that the essential evidence of government is created, maintained for as long as it is needed, and is available to the citizens of the state and to the public in general.

Kansas State Archives
http://www.kshs.org/research/collections/documents/govtrecor...

The Kansas State Historical Society serves as the state archives. Holdings include the inactive unpublished records of state government with enduring historical value. The archives also holds microfilm copies of unpublished records from many city and county offices, and some federal records.

Kansas State Historical Society
http://www.kshs.org/

Established in 1875, "the mission of the Kansas State Historical Society is to identify, collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate materials and information pertaining to Kansas history in order to assist the public in understanding and appreciating their Kansas heritage and how it relates to their lives."

Minnesota Historical Society
http://www.mnhs.org/about/index.html

The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849 to preserve and share Minnesota history. The Society collects, preserves and tells the story of Minnesota's past through interactive and engaging museum exhibits, extensive libraries and collections, 25 historic sites, educational programs and book publishing.

Minnesota State Archives
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/records/index.html

The Minnesota State Archives collects Minnesota government documents including: correspondence, reports, minutes, memoranda, published records, maps, photographs, architectural drawings, microfilm, sound recordings, ephemera, and videotapes. The collection is searchable through this web site, as are naturalization and tax and assessment documents.

Missouri Historical Society
http://www.mohistory.org/content/HomePage/HomePage.aspx

"The Missouri Historical Society has been active in the St. Louis community since 1866. Founding members organized the historical society 'for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state.'"

Missouri State Archives
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/Default.asp

The Missouri State Archives is the official repository of the state's government and historical documents. Among its holdings are documents relating to French and Spanish colonial rule, the New Madrid Earthquakes, Supreme Court case files, the Civil War, Frank and Jesse James, and Harry S. Truman.

Nebraska State Historical Society
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/index.htm

The Nebraska State Historical Society houses the state archives of Nebraska. The Library/Archives Division "safeguards the documentary heritage of Nebraska so that it can be used by all researchers". Its collection includes newspapers, maps, photographs, government records, papers of individuals and organizations, sound recordings, and moving images.

Nebraska State Historical Society
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/

Founded in 1878, the Society collects and preserves Nebraska history.

North Dakota State Archives and Historical Research Library
http://www.state.nd.us/hist/sal.htm

The state archives "acquires and preserves all types of research materials relating to North Dakota and the Northern Great Plains." This site provides information on researching genealogy, government sources, manuscripts, newspapers, and photographs within the state archives of North Dakota.

Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/umhtml/umhome.html

"Portrays the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century through first-person accounts, biographies, promotional literature, local histories, ethnographic and antiquarian texts, colonial archival documents, and other works drawn from the Library of Congress's General Collections and Rare Books and Special Collections Division. The collection's 138 volumes depict the land and its resources; the conflicts between settlers and Native peoples; the experience of pioneers and missionaries, soldiers and immigrants and reformers; the growth of local communities and local cultural traditions; and the development of regional and national leadership in agriculture, business, medicine, politics, religion, law, journalism, education, and the role of women."

South Dakota State Archives
http://www.sdhistory.org/arc/archives.htm

The state archives of South Dakota, part of the South Dakota Historical Society, collects records of the state government and of South Dakota and regional history. Its web site features several online databases, such as the Naturalization Records Index and Newspaper Database.

South Dakota State Historical Society
http://www.sdhistory.org/

First organized in 1862, the Society lies within the Department of Tourism and Economic Development to manage five programs--archaeology, archives, historic preservation, museum, and research and publishing.

State Historical Society of Iowa
http://www.iowahistory.org/

A division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, "the State Historical Society of Iowa serves as a trustee of Iowa's historical legacy and an advocate for understanding Iowa's past."

State Historical Society of Missouri
http://shs.umsystem.edu/index.shtml

"Founded in 1898 by the Missouri Press Association and a trustee of the state since 1901, the State Historical Society of Missouri is the preeminent research facility for the study of the Show Me State's heritage." The site provides links to the Society's art collection; a directory of local historical societies, museums, and genealogical societies in the state; information about the Society's newspaper collection, reference library, and photograph collection; online listings of authors and titles within the historical scholarly publication, "Missouri Historical Review"; Missouri genealogy guides; and a link to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

State Historical Society of North Dakota
http://www.state.nd.us/hist/

Governed by the State Historical Board, the mission of the State Historical Society of North Dakota is "to identify, preserve, interpret, and promote the heritage of North Dakota and its people."