Uncover
the history of
Indigenous Slavery
across the Americas
“Memory was always more than paper and cannot be broken by violent history or stolen by thieves of childhood.”
- Joy Harjo
Native Bound Unbound is a digital initiative that recovers and connects every documented instance of Indigenous slavery across the Americas—through archival documents, art, artifacts, and architecture. The project seeks to illuminate where it took place, when it occurred, whom it impacted, and the profound meaning embedded in its legacy for both Indigenous communities and the descendants of the enslaved.
We invite you to explore this living archive through four pathways: People, Places, Archives, and Stories.
Find the People
We invite you to explore the lives and legacies of those bound by Indigenous slavery—people whose names, stories, and descendants continue to shape the Americas.
Start Exploring
Find
the People
Locate the Places
We invite you to explore the landscapes of Indigenous slavery—mapped through homelands, settlements, buildings, and routes of migration that span the Americas and beyond.
Start Exploring
Locate
the Places
Recover the Stories
We invite you to explore stories told through many forms—objects, illustrations, voices, videos, writings, and maps—each revealing a different facet of Indigenous slavery and its enduring legacy.
Start Exploring
Recover
the Stories
Explore the Archives
We invite you to explore the Native Bound Unbound archives—a growing collection of documents, manuscripts, and photographs that record the histories of Indigenous slavery and its legacy.
Start Exploring
Explore
the Archives
Learn
the History
This part of the site provides historical context for the histories of Indigenous slavery and includes a chronology, a vocabulary of slavery, and a bibliography.
We invite you to explore how Indigenous slavery unfolded across empires and centuries—shaping economies, laws, and lives. Discover the first-ever chronology of Indigenous slavery in the Americas, examine the complex vocabulary that once obscured its practice, and engage with decades of scholarship that continue to illuminate its legacy.
About
the Project
A monumental recovery project reimagining the archive and the museum.
Native Bound Unbound is a collaborative recovery project that reimagines both the archive and the museum to uncover and connect the histories of Indigenous slavery across the Americas. This section introduces how the project began, how it continues to grow, and how it was catalyzed by support from the Mellon Foundation. It also invites you to learn about the methods and practices that guide our work—and the dedicated teams bringing it to life.
Read More
