Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Treasures of the State Library for May,
2010 - Reports on Native Americans in Massachusetts The State
Library owns many materials about Native American life and
culture in the Commonwealth. Among the special holdings of the
library are two reports from the 1800's concerning Native
Americans in Massachusetts. The Reference Department has had
several requests for these, and they are being added to our
electronic repository. In 1827, the Massachusetts House of
Representatives Report Number 68 was published. It speaks "on
the condition of the Native Americans and Descendents, in this
Commonwealth." This document focuses not only on the "census" of
Indians in the state, but also reports on their schooling, on
land issues, and suggests a system of government which would
include a "Guardian" appointed by the Governor as well as an
"overseer" chosen by the Indians themselves. The General Court
also passed a law in 1827 assuring that 300 copies of the report
were printed and that copies were di