The Stolen Relations project seeks to illuminate an often hidden history of Indigenous slavery in American history in order to tell a fuller story of settler colonialism and the harms done to Native nations. The project maintains that at the core of this work are the needs of Indigenous communities for whom these histories are about. We thereby also want to emphasize the humanity and relations of those who were stolen, as well as the survival and present-day presence of those communities most affected.

In collaboration with tribal communities, this project focuses on creating reciprocal relationships between the Indigenous communities and academic communities, prioritizing Indigenous peoples first. As this subject is widely understood differently across Indigenous communities, we are responsive to the differing needs and desires for how this information is portrayed to, and shared with, wider audiences. 

One of our primary goals in this project has been to create an online resource regarding individuals who were stolen, along with other materials for understanding both the past and present. We serve the needs of tribal communities and hope to further their goals of public education, tribal knowledge of ancestors, and a recognition of their importance and presence today. 

Other goals of the project include:

• To give Native communities first access to the resources and materials in the database;
• Provide information on Indigenous slavery for the academic and scholarly communities of universities, museums, cultural centers, tribal governments, historic preservation, and other tribal agencies;
• Create educational resources for teachers, librarians, and other educators (both formal and informal) to provide more accurate Indigenous histories;
• Consolidate available and relevant materials related to Indigenous slavery; and
• Create links and platforms to direct users to tribal resources, websites, and museums to learn about the full story of tribal peoples, past and present (including a possible “landing page” for each tribal community).

This project is ongoing and is continually shaped by a Native Advisory Board.