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There are many ways to search the collections of the Freedom Archives. Below is a brief guide that will help you conduct effective searches. Note, anytime you search for anything in the Freedom Archives, the first results that appear will be our digitized items. Information for items that have yet to be scanned or yet to be digitized can still be viewed, but only by clicking on the show link that will display the hidden (non-digitized) items. If you are interested in accessing these non-digitized materials, please email info@freedomarchives.org.
Exploring the Collections without the Search Bar
Under the heading Browse By Collection, you’ll notice most of the Freedom Archives’ major collections. These collections have an image as well as a short description of what you’ll find in that collection. Click on that image to instantly explore that specific collection.
Basic Searching
You can always type what you’re looking for into the search bar. Certain searches may generate hundreds of results, so sometimes it will help to use quotation marks to help narrow down your results. For instance, searching for the phrase Black Liberation will generate all of our holdings that contain the words Black and Liberation, while searching for “Black Liberation” (in quotation marks) will only generate our records that have those two words next to each other.
Advanced Searching
The Freedom Archives search site also understands Boolean search logic, specifcally AND/+, NOT/-, and OR operators. Click on this link for a brief tutorial on how to use Boolean search logic. Our search function also understands “fuzzy searches.” Fuzzy searches utilize the (*) and will find matches even when users misspell words or enter in only partial words for the search. For example, searching for liber* will produce results for liberation/liberate/liberates/etc.
Keyword Searches
You’ll notice that under the heading KEYWORDS, there are a number of words, phrases or names that describe content. Sometimes these are also called “tags.” Clicking on these words is essentially the same as conducting a basic search.
Welcome to the Freedom Archives' Digital Search Engine.The Freedom Archives contains over 12,000 hours of audio and video recordings which date from the late-1960s to the mid-90s and chronicle the progressive history of the Bay Area, the United States, and international movements. We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings. Our collection includes weekly news, poetry, music programs; in-depth interviews and reports on social and cultural issues; numerous voices from behind prison walls; diverse activists; and pamphlets, journals and other materials from many radical organizations and movements.

Indigenous/Native American Struggles

This collection features materials covering the centuries long struggles of Indigenous Americans to resist European imperialism and maintain their culture and autonomy. Focuses of the collection include Native American political prisoners, documents and recordings from the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the 1992 Tribunal which centered on challenging the 500th anniversary of Columbus "discovering" America.

Subcollections

  • 1992 Tribunal
    1992 Tribunal
    The 1992 Tribunal (initiated by AIM) focused on challenging the 500th anniversary of the “discovery” of America by Christopher Columbus and discussing the massive, systematic violations of human rights and international law against people of color.
  • 500 Years-Columbus
    500 Years-Columbus
    This collection contains materials related to the 500 year anniversary of Columbus\' \"discovery\" of America. It includes educational resources and critiques of celebrating the legacy of Columbus.
  • Native Americans
    Native Americans
    This collection addresses topics including the 1973 Occupation of Wounded Knee, health conditions on reservations, environmental challenges facing Native communities and the voices of Native leaders.
  • The Akwesasne Notes
    The Akwesasne Notes
    This collection contains editions of the Akwesasne Notes, a newspaper published by an indigenous group within the Mohawk Nation.

Documents

Verdict of the International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the USA Verdict of the International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the USA
Publisher: International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the U.S.Date: 10/4/1992Format: MonographCollection: 1992 Tribunal
Verdict of the 1992 Tribunal - in English.
Program for International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the USA Program for International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the USA
Publisher: International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the U.S.Date: 10/1992Format: ProgramCollection: 1992 Tribunal
Program from the 1992 International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the United States. Includes information on the event, political prisoners and sponsors.
Remerica ! Amerika: 1492-1992 Exhibition Catalog Remerica ! Amerika: 1492-1992 Exhibition Catalog
Author: Juan SanchezPublisher: Hunter College of The City University of New YorkDate: 9/8/1992Volume Number: Sep 8-Oct 30Format: CatalogCollection: 1992 Tribunal
Exhibition catalog of Remerica ! Amerika: 1492-1992 at Hunter College of The City University of New York. Organized and with an essay (Remerica ! Amerika: Resurrecting "A Peoples' History" to Reaffirm Our Presence and Our Will To Emerge) by Juan Sanchez. Curatorial assistance and additional essays by Enoc Perez and Miguelangel Ruiz. Invited contributors: Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena. Remerika ! Amerika is an exhibition of new works by Latin-American, African-American, Native-American, Asian American, Chicano, and Puerto Rican artists which respond to the absurd notion of the "discovery" of the "new world". The exhibition attempts to demonstrate the power and spirit of struggle and survival through culture, rituals, religion, and celebration. It also attempts to dismantle, explore, analyze, and conceptually work with visual and oral history.
Human Rights Violations and Landrights of Native American Nations in the USA: The Case of the Western Shoshone Human Rights Violations and Landrights of Native American Nations in the USA: The Case of the Western Shoshone
Publisher: American Indian MovementFormat: MonographCollection: 1992 Tribunal
Sections: I. Legal Foundations II. The Indian Claims Commission III. The case "Damn vs USA" IV. The Bureau of Land Management V. Extinguishment of Western Shoshone Treaty Rights VI. Hr 3897 - the "Vucanovich Bill" VII. The present situation: the impoundment of livestock VIII. Western Shoshone Complaint for Genocide IX. The Western Shoshone's quest for a fair solution of the landrights issue X. Human Rights Violations against the Western Shoshone Nation by the USA Human Rights Violations against the Western Shoshone Nation by the USA: 1) The Western Shoshone were denied due process of law 2) The arbitrary extinguishment of the Treat of Ruby Valley violates US law and international law 3) Violations of Human Rights as defined in International Law on Ethnocide and Genocide
Dissing the Discovery Dissing the Discovery
Authors: Meg Starr and Barbara ZellerPublisher: The International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples' and Oppressed Nationalities in the U.S.Year: 1992Format: MonographCollection: 1992 Tribunal
U.S. PPs and POWs De-Celebrate the Columbus Quincentenary and affirm 500 years of resistance. With contributions from Sundiata Acoli,Marilyn Buck, Mark Cook, Edwin Cortes, Elizam Escobar, Larry Giddings, David Gilbert, Jaan Laaman, Mondo Langa, Ray Levasseaur, Alberto Rodriguez, and updates on Mumia Abu-Jamal, Norma Jean Croy,and Leonard Peltier. Includes poetry, essays, and statements. Artwork by Elspeth Meyer (front and back cover), Mary Taylor (Freedom Now design), Sundiata Acoli (drawing), Louise Harter, Chris Day ("Nina, Pinta, & Santa Maria: This Time We Sink 'Em"), and Elizam Escobar (acrylic over photograph photo-painting self portrait: 1980-1992). Black and white.
Verdicto Del Tribunal Internacional de Los Pueblos Indigenas Y Naciones Oprimidas en Los EEUU Verdicto Del Tribunal Internacional de Los Pueblos Indigenas Y Naciones Oprimidas en Los EEUU
Date: 11/24/1992Volume Number: 24-NovFormat: MonographCollection: 1992 Tribunal
Verdict of the 1992 Tribunal- Spanish
Statement from Wounded Knee Statement from Wounded Knee
Format: mp3Collection: Indigenous/Native American Struggles
Statement of purpose by Dennis Banks at the occupation of Wounded Knee. Articulates the position that the US government will not respond to unarmed struggle.
Meridel Le Sueur - Let the Bird of the Earth Fly Meridel Le Sueur - Let the Bird of the Earth Fly
Format: mp3Collection: Indigenous/Native American Struggles
Meridel Le Sueur, with Matthew Siegel on flute, recites part of her poem - "Let the Bird of Earth Fly". Meridel was a lifelong revolutionary, writer, and feminist visionary of French, Irish, and Lakota ancestry, and a Minnesota-based supporter of AIM and all liberation struggles.
Indigenous Resistance 1 Indigenous Resistance 1
Format: mp3Collection: Indigenous/Native American Struggles
Buffy Saint Marie - My Country Tis of Thy People You’re Dying – about boarding schools and falsified history. Joanne Tall – about the ongoing genocidal impact of boarding schools, how religion forces assimilation, the 1973 Liberation of Wounded Knee and how it impacted her and her people.
Indigenous Resistance - Part 2 from Roots of Resistance Indigenous Resistance - Part 2 from Roots of Resistance
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesProgram: Roots of ResistanceCollection: Indigenous/Native American Struggles
Chant in resistance to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (the BIA), by Native-American activists “Radio Free Alcatraz” broadcast by the Indians of All Tribes on Alcatraz in 1969 – John Trudell, Richard Oakes and Don Cooney. Wounded Knee mix with sounds of the American Indian Movement (AIM) – occupation, shots, FBI radio messages, and the voices of Dennis Banks and Carter Camp. Wounded Knee was also the site of an 1890 genocidal massacre of the Sioux Nation by the US cavalry.