The files are those of the Washington, D.C., office that were accumulated primarily under William Youpee. Youpee served as the first president of the association and became its executive director in 1972. There are also files accumulated by Chinzu Toda, a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee who was on loan to the National Tribal Chairmen's Association. In 1978, Kenneth E. Black became the executive director. Material created from 1978 to the end of the National Tribal Chairmen's Association are in private hands.

The Phyllis Hersh collection consists of papers and photographs associated with a book project on contemporary Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo, and Zuni jewelry and jewelers. The collection measures 1.3 linear ft. of mansucript materials, 521 photographic prints, and 85 photographic negatives, and dates from 1974 to 2008, with the bulk of the material dating from 1975 to 1980. The papers primarily document Hersh's work on "The Indian Jewelers' Art," an unfinished book on contemporary Native American jewelry.

The Canisius family photograph album was primarily compiled by Elizabeth Canisius (1882-1977) of Indianapolis, Indiana, and contains photographs made from about 1918 to 1929 by her and various members of her immediate and extended family. Evidently not arranged in chronological order, the photographs document a burgeoning German-American family and...

Neville A. Harte (1907-1997) was an amateur archaeologist in Panama in the 1950's and 1960's. This collection contains 52 photographic prints of archeological objects excavated at Venado Beach, Panama as well as photographs of the excavation itself. The archaeological collection was sold by Neville and Eva Harte to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in 1967.

This collection contains 2 hand-colored ambrotypes that depict portraits of Potawatomi Chief Shabbona, circa 1854-1859. The ambrotypes were given to Iva Towsley Gardner when she served as a nurse within the Potowatami community. The ambrotypes are housed in a union case that features a horse and rider motif. The photographs may have been shot on di...

The collection includes correspondence, notes, miscellaneous administrative documents, financial records, calendars, questionnaires, notes from interviews, survey forms, copies of resolutions, proceedings, speeches, programs, press releases, printed and processed material, and many other types of documents. Mainly these relate to Petersons's career and special interests between 1953 and 1970. There are also a few documents that concern the organizations which Peterson served for periods preceding or following her periods in office. Of special interest are the materials related to the NCAI, many of which supplement the records in that organization's files. The collection also includes documents that concern a wide range of Indian interests and activities.

The majority of photographs are of individuals from the various tribes which Speck visited from circa 1914 to 1934. There are also a variety of scenic shots of the areas which he visited. His collection contains photographs of the Abnaki, Accomac, Algonkin, Aracua, Catawba, Cherokee, Chickahominy, Chippewa, Delaware, Eskimo (Naskapi), Huron, Innu (Naskapi), Iroquois, Mahican, Malecite, Mashpee, Mattaponi, Mi'kmaq, Mistassini, Mohegan, Montagnais, Nanticoke, Narragansett, Nehantic, Niantic, Pamunkey, Potomac, Penobscot, Pequot, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Six Nations, Tutelo, Wampanoag, and Wawenock.

The Churchill materials document reservation life at the beginning of the 20th century in more than ten states and Federal territories, including Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

The Saville negatives consists primarily of images of Manabi Province, Ecuador, circa 1907; also includes images of the Pantigo burial site, Easthampton, Long Island, NY, circa 1918.

The General Manuscripts and Ephemera collections contains documents ane ephemera concerning people, events, and activities related to the historical and contemporary lives of Native peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere.