The Stolen Relations Database is reshaping how we understand American history. While public memory often links slavery in North America exclusively to the transatlantic slave trade and African American enslavement, this new digital resource reveals a lesser-known and deeply painful reality: the systemic enslavement of Indigenous people in what is now the United States.
This article explores how the Stolen Relations Database, developed by Brown University researchers in collaboration with Native communities, documents over 7,000 lives impacted by Indigenous slavery. You’ll learn what kind of information it includes, how to use the platform effectively, and why this project marks a turning point in public history and digital humanities.
What Is the Stolen Relations Database?
The Stolen Relations: Recovering Stories of Indigenous Enslavement in the Americas initiative is an open-access, collaboratively maintained database housed at stolenrelations.org. Led by Professor Linford D. Fisher and an interdisciplinary group at Brown University, the database curates and consolidates historical documents chronicling the enslavement, forced servitude, and unfree condition of Native peoples from 1492 through the early 20th century.
We think of slavery as ending in 1865, but Native people were enslaved before and after that date,” said Professor Linford D. Fisher. “This project is about recovering those histories, documenting them, and making them accessible.” (Brown University, 2025)
The aim is not only archival but restorative: to bring dignity to individuals long rendered invisible by the historical record.
Key Features of the Stolen Relations Database
The Stolen Relations platform is divided into four primary interfaces:
1. People
This is the core of the database. The “Search People” tool lets users filter and browse thousands of individuals using detailed criteria such as:
- Name
- Location
- Record type (e.g., court case, church registry, advertisement)
- Tribal nation
- Sex and status (e.g., enslaved/unfree, free)
- Year and Age category
- Racial designation
Clicking on a person’s profile reveals even more granular data, including:
- Record date and geographic context
- Original document and citation
- Source acknowledgments
- Relationship tags (e.g., familial connections)
Each entry is traceable to its archival source, and CSV download options are available for further research or educational use.
2. Timeline
Spanning from 1492 to 2016, the interactive timeline highlights key events in the history of Indigenous slavery and legal changes affecting Native communities. These include moments like:
- The Pequot War (1636–1638)
- King Philip’s War (1675–1678)
- The 13th Amendment (1865)
- Federal policy changes in the 20th century
This contextualizes each record within broader historical movements and state-sanctioned systems of oppression.
3. Map
The geographic interface allows the user to view where individuals were recorded as enslaved or free. The location data is source-based, so it displays where the individual was recorded, not where they lived.
The project explicitly indicates that the map is not complete but a living map that will shift when more data is gathered. The team adheres to decolonizing principles and prioritizes respectful, participatory data practices.
4. Indigenous Voices
This section contains multimedia materials — video interviews, oral histories and interactive narratives — created collaboratively with Indigenous community members and scholars. These pieces emphasize the value of Indigenous agency in the retelling of history, while offering different forms of knowledge that challenge traditional academic means.
Why the Stolen Relations Database Matters
While archives and historical texts have long documented African American enslavement, Indigenous slavery remains poorly understood — often fragmented or misrepresented in colonial records. The Stolen Relations Database consolidates these dispersed records to:
- Acknowledge historical trauma among Native peoples.
- Support education in K–12 and university settings.
- Aid genealogical research for Native families.
- Provide data for reparative justice efforts and policy reform.
According to the Brown University press release, many of the people recorded in the database were enslaved within New England, often sold domestically or sent to the Caribbean. These findings disrupt long-held assumptions that Indigenous slavery was marginal or short-lived.
Practical Tips for Using the Stolen Relations Database
Whether you’re a historian, educator, student, or community researcher, here’s how you can make the most of the platform:
Tip 1: Start with a Broad Search
Use minimal filters to begin with — perhaps only a location or tribal nation — and let the database show a wider range of results. This helps uncover unexpected records and connections.
Tip 2: Use the Stolen Relations Database’s CSV Export for Comparative Research
The ability to download records in CSV format allows for sorting, analysis, and visualization in programs like Excel, R, or Tableau.
Tip 3: Cross-reference with Tribal Histories
Match database entries with oral histories and tribal archives. These additional sources can validate or challenge colonial-era records, offering a fuller picture of an individual’s life.
Tip 4: Integrate into Curriculum
Educators can use the timeline and map views in classrooms to introduce the concept of Indigenous slavery in a visually compelling way. Lesson plans are also in development by the research team.
Ethical Considerations: Decolonizing Digital Archives
The team behind Stolen Relations is acutely aware of the risks of extracting and misrepresenting Indigenous histories. Their design principles emphasize:
- Community partnership in all phases of the project
- Consent-based storytelling, especially for oral histories
- Contextual framing that challenges white-dominant narratives
This transparency is rare in large-scale archival projects and serves as a model for ethical database creation.
Conclusion
The Stolen Relations Database is not just a collection of names and dates — it’s a vital act of historical recovery. By making visible the lives and relationships of over 7,000 Indigenous individuals subjected to systems of unfreedom, it offers both a sobering and empowering resource. For researchers, teachers, descendants, and allies, this database is a call to remember, to question, and to act.
For more research-focused digital projects and data platforms, explore our Science category for related resources.
