Primers, Books & Reference Sources
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Collection contains encyclopedia entries; timelines on various subjects (e.g. Residential Schools); pictures & videos; includes external links at the end of entries.
Topic & Terminology Primers
A Note on Terminology: Inuit, Métis, First Nations, and AboriginalInuit Tapiriit Kanatami, (n.d.)
Briefing Note on Terminology: Concept Note – Terminology Related to Indigenous Peoples.
Celeste McKay Consulting, 2015. Indigenous Student Centre, University of Manitoba
How to Talk About Indigenous People
CBC News, 2017, YouTube
Indigenous Ally Toolkit
Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network, 2019
Indigenous Foundations: Terminology
First Nations & Indigenous Studies, UBC, 2009
Indigenous Issues 101
Chelsea Vowel, âpihtawikosisân
Books
On our shelves: By First Peoples / About First Peoples / Dawson Orange Shirt DayAlfred, G. R. Peace, Power, Righteousness: An Indigenous Manifesto. Oxford University Press, 2009.
E98 .C2 A38 2009 (General Collection)
Alfred, T. Wasáse: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom. University of Toronto Press Higher Education, 2005. (eBook)
Battiste, M. A., & Henderson, J. Y. Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage: A Global Challenge. Purich Publishing Ltd., 2000.
GN380 .B37 (General Collection)
Borrows, J. Law’s Indigenous Ethics. University of Toronto Press, 2019.
KIC5780.5 .B67 (General Collection)
Cavanagh, E., & Veracini, L. (2017). The Routledge handbook of the history of settler colonialism. Abingdon: Routledge.
JV61 .R68 (General Collection)
Frideres, J. First Nations in the Twenty-First Century. Oxford University Press, 2016.
E78 .C2 F744 2016 (General Collection)
Hill, D.M. Traditional Medicine in Contemporary Contexts: Protecting and Respecting Indigenous Knowledge and Medicine. National Aboriginal Health Organization, 2003. (eBook)
Justice, D. H. Why Indigenous Literatures Matter. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2018.
PS8089.5 .I5 J87 (General Collection)
Kirmayer, L., & Valaskakis, G. Healing Traditions: The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. UBC Press, 2009. (eBook)
Lowman, E. B., & Barker, A. J. (2015). Settler : identity and colonialism in 21st century Canada. Black Point: Fernwood Publishing.
E78 .C2 L68 (General Collection)
Maracle, L. My conversations with Canadians. BookThug, 2017.
PS8576 .A6175 M83 (General Collection)
Vowel, C. Indigenous writes: A guide to First Nations, Metis and Inuit issues in Canada. Highwater Press, 2016.
E78 .C2 V68 (General Collection)
Waldram, J. B., Herring, A., & Young, T. K. Aboriginal health in Canada: historical, cultural, and epidemiological perspectives. University of Toronto Press, 2006. (eBook)
RA449 .W35 2006 (General Collection)
Walter, M. & Andersen, C. (2013). Indigenous statistics: A quantitative research methodology.
GN380 .W35 2016 (General Collection) & eBook
Younging, G. (2018). Elements of Indigenous style: a guide for writing by and about Indigenous Peoples. Edmonton: Brush Education.
PN147 .Y58 (General Collection)
Geographic Information
Google-like map of the world with filters for territories, languages, and treaties.
Reference maps of Indigenous Canada, as well as a section devoted to Truth and Reconciliation, including detailed pages on many aspects of the topic with contemporary and historical photography, maps and more. Created by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in conjunction with the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis Nation, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and Indspire –Foreword.
Interactive map maintained by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development offers government-collected information such as the First People territories, band names, chief name and contact
information, with links to additional information such as census and governance documents.
Databases, Journals & Knowledge Portals
Dawson Library Databases
Discovery ServiceThe Discovery Service will search all the library’s subscription databases, as well as several open access journal collections.
Visit the Library’s All Resources page to see a full list of resources, and to search specific article databases.
Journals, Canadian
Aboriginal Policy Studies – Études des politiques des Autochtones
Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta
Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta
An online, multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal that publishes bi-annual original, scholarly, and policy relevant research on issues relevant to Métis, non-status Indians and urban Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Full-text available: 2011 – present. EN/FR
A peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of Inuit societies, whether traditional or contemporary, in the general perspective of social sciences and humanities. Full-text available: 2002 – present (delay: 2 years). EN/FR
An open-access, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed journal, published twice a year, which honours the voices and perspectives of First peoples and non-Indigenous allies and supporters. twice a year. Full-text available: 2004 – present.
A peer-reviewed journal dedicated to work purposefully engaged in the decolonization process, regardless of discipline or field, encouraging work that actively seeks disciplinary connections that work both against and beyond the Western academy. Full-text available: 2012 – 2018.
Indigenous Social Work Journal (formerly the Native Social Work Journal)
Laurentian University of Sudbury
Laurentian University of Sudbury
A community-based and peer-reviewed journal launched in 1997 committed to the preservation, revitalization and promotion of the expanding field of Indigenous social work knowledge, theories and practices. Full-text available: 1997 – 2014.
A student-run legal peer-reviewed journal published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. A Canadian legal journals that publish articles regarding Indigenous legal issues both in Canada and internationally. Full-text available: 2002 – present. Full-text available in HeinOnline
A bilingual, peer-reviewed journal that covers all aspects of the discipline of the history of Canadian art, architecture and the decorative arts; and Inuit and North American Native art from the eighteenth century to the contemporary period. Full-text available: 1974 – 2015.
The Canadian Journal of Native Studies
Brandon University and the John E. Robbins Library at Brandon University
Brandon University and the John E. Robbins Library at Brandon University
An interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that focuses on anthropological, historical, sociological, political, legal, educational and cultural issues affecting First Nations people in Canada. Also published a limited number of articles dealing with Indigenous people worldwide. Full-text available: 1981 – 2010.
Journals, International
A peer-reviewed journal that studies Indigenous oral history, language, ethnohistory, and documentary evidence. Full-text available: 1977 – present.
An interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal promoting high-quality research in Australian Indigenous studies, with a focus on the humanities and social sciences. Full-text available: 2006 – present. Full-text available in Academic Search Complete
An electronic, multidisciplinary bi-annual peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research articles as well as review articles in all areas of indigenous knowledge from a global perspective. Published by the Pennsylvania State University Libraries, and co-sponsored by the Penn State Libraries and the
Penn State Inter-institutional Center for Indigenous Knowledge (ICIK). Full-text available: 2015 – 2019.
A peer-reviewed journal addressing issues of diplomacy & international relations pertaining to Indigenous Peoples throughout the world. Full-text available: 2010 – present.
A peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the documentation and analysis of the Indigenous languages of the Americas. IJAL is an important repository for research based on fieldwork and archival materials on the languages of North and South America.
Full-text available: 1917 – 2016 in JSTOR / 1993 – present in Academic Search Complete (delay: 1 year).
Full-text available: 1917 – 2016 in JSTOR / 1993 – present in Academic Search Complete (delay: 1 year).
An international bi-monthly peer-reviewed journal that focuses widely on all types of bio-resources on earth and their management at times of stress/crisis. It has a particular focus on documentation, validation and recovery of ethnic/Indigenous knowledge and practices, and native bio-species. Full-text available in 2010 – present.
International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies
Queensland University of Technology in Australia
Queensland University of Technology in Australia
An international, bi-annual, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the dissemination of scholarship across the humanities, social sciences, health sciences, law and education in the field of Indigenous Studies. Full-text available: 2008 – present.
Contains articles written in non-technical language in areas of the environment, public health, psychology, general health or education. Full-text available: 2011 – present.
An online, peer-reviewed, open-access journal that shares multidisciplinary Indigenous knowledge and research relevant to health professionals, leaders, researchers and community members, both within and external to Indigenous communities. Incorporates and continues the work of the Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, by the Native Counseling Services of Alberta.
NAIS: Journal of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association
University of Minnesota Press
University of Minnesota Press
An interdisciplinary international peer-reviewed journal comprised of scholarship in the fields of Native American and Indigenous Studies. Full-text available in Academic OneFile (2014 – present)
An international, multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal presenting a global forum for both the critical discussion of postcolonial literature, culture, history, and theory, as well as postcolonial poetry and fiction. Full-text available: 2004 – present.
An interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal devoted to the mission of assisting Indigenous peoples of the Americas in taking possession of their own intellectual and creative pursuits. Full-text available in Academic OneFile (2007 – 2019) and JSTOR (4 year embargo).
International Journal of Indigenous Health
Aboriginal Health Research Networks Secretariat (AHRNetS), University of Victoria
Aboriginal Health Research Networks Secretariat (AHRNetS), University of Victoria
is an open-access peer-reviewed journal devoted to sharing innovative health research across disciplines, Indigenous communities, and countries. Full-text available: 2004 – present.
Knowledge Portals
The Makivik Corporation defends the interests and rights of Nunavik Inuit, in particular by encouraging the promotion and preservation of the Inuit culture and language. BAnQ provides access to five publications online: Atuaqnik, Makivik Corporation Annual Report, Makivik Magazine, Makivik News and Taqralik. It is possible for residents of Quebec to access BAnQ electronic resources remotely through a remote services subscription.
This portal provides access to a variety of annotated literature reviews, reports, guides, films, booklets, studies, journal articles and presentations all related to Aboriginal children and families in Canada and other countries. Managed by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
Tebtebba Resources
Tebtebba: Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education
Tebtebba: Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education
Contains pamphlets, books, journal articles and magazine articles that seeks to promote and disseminate Indigenous People’s worldviews, their perspectives on key issues such as individual and collective human rights, sustainable development, climate change, biodiversity, traditional knowledge, customary laws and governance, conflict transformation, gender, etc. Full-text available: 01/01/2002 – 12/31/2012.
Archival & Primary Sources (Online)
A searchable collection of over 1.7 million pages of historical pre-1920 colonial, provincial and federal government documents. This collection includes government acts, bills, committee reports, court rules, debates, journals, ordinances, a selection of official publications from France and Great Britain, sessional papers, regulations, royal commission reports, voter’s lists and treaties. .
Spanning three and a half centuries of Canadian documentary history, this collection holds rich primary materials exploring a wide range of subjects and disciplines. Topics range from major historical events to the development of institutions, laws and science; from Canadian literature to philosophical treatises; from agriculture to politics, trade and tariffs.
Provides free access to Canadian legal information, including court judgments, tribunal decisions, statutes and regulations from all Canadian jurisdictions.
is a digital library providing access to almost 14,000 digitized volumes of Canada’s printed heritage, including books, magazines and government documents. This includes material published from the time of the first European settlers to the first half of the 20th century. Includes documents written in First Peoples languages.
LAC acquires, preserves, and provides access to published and archival heritage material that represents First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation experiences and contributions to Canada. This includes text, photographs, maps, and audio-visual material. Explore the collection through our online databases, digitized documents and thematic guides.
Reports & Statistics
Reports
Works to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis; modernize Government of Canada structures to enable Indigenous peoples to build capacity and support their vision of self-determination; and lead the Government of Canada’s work in the North.
Provides government information about health care services and non-insured health benefits (NIHB), careers, how to fight drug and substance use, environmental health, food safety and how to have a healthy pregnancy.
Presents the work and findings of an independent inquiry launched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September 2016. The website contains numerous documents, including the final report entitled Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Statistics
A series of geographic profiles that presents a summary of characteristics about the Aboriginal population living in these areas. Demographic data and information on living arrangements of children, education, employment, income, housing, health and language.
Provides data on the social and economic conditions of First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit, aged 15 and over, in Canada. Survey information collected every 5 years.
Offers more than 500 pages of tables, charts and succinct analytical articles on every major area of Statistics Canada’s expertise. These reports contain a chapter on Aboriginal People.
An annual report that provides an update of the current situation for Indigenous Peoples worldwide and a comprehensive overview of the main global trends and developments affecting Indigenous Peoples. Published by International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs . Full-text available: 1996- present
are reports created to raise awareness on Indigenous Peoples’ issues with a major focus on poverty & well-being; culture; environment; contemporary education; health; human rights and emerging issues. Published by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Includes reports on a variety of subjects related to the First Peoples of Canada, using data collected by the Canadian government.
Online News & Magazines
A news blog published by the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute. The ACCI is a museum, archive, library and a teaching centre dedicated to capturing, maintaining, sharing, celebrating, and practicing Cree culture and knowledge.
A monthly, independent tabloid newspaper that features national and regional news and focuses on issues that are important to the Aboriginal communities across the country since 1984. Alberta Native News uniquely promotes Aboriginal culture and displays artwork by emerging and acclaimed Native artists. Full-text available: 09/2013 – present.
Gathers a wide range of dailies, weeklies, specialized journals and mass-market magazines, as well as city directories and annual reports from churches, schools, and corporations. Contains publications in Cree, Chinook, Iroquois, Mi’kmaq and Ojibwa languages.
A news site dedicated to Indigenous issues and content, managed and edited by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Contains news and feature articles, interviews and book reviews that cover issues and themes important to Indigenous peoples. All of the contributors are Indigenous, or are professionals who work closely with Indigenous peoples. Full-text available: 01/01/1982 – present .
is a non-denominational Christian newspaper of inspirational articles published for and about the intertribal Native North American community. Published by Intertribal Christian Communications. Full-text available: 03/01/2001 – present.
is a newsletter that deals with Aboriginal concepts of Justice founded upon Aboriginal knowledge and language and rooted in Aboriginal experiences and feelings of wrongs and indignation. Published by Native Law Centre University of Saskatchewan. Full-text available: 2014 – 2015.
is an online forum for Indigenous historians to gather as an e-community and share their ideas or works in progress. Shekon Neechie is entirely Indigenous conceived, created, and controlled. The historians featured here are formally trained – either within the academy or in the community – or self-taught.
One episode of a thirteen-part documentary series that follows Kanien’kehá:ka Olympian and Health Advocate, Waneek Horn-Miller, on a journey to reclaim well-being and build an Indigenous movement of positive change.
Audio & Video Sources
is a video database published and curated by The National Film Board of Canada. Since 1968, the NFB has
produced close to 300 films by First Nation, Inuit and Métis directors from right across Canada, offering original
and timely perspectives on our country, our history and possible futures from a range of Indigenous perspectives.
The films are organized into four collections for perusing:
- NFB Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations & Metis )
- NFB Indigenous Peoples in Canada (Inuit)
- NFB Indigenous Peoples outside Canada
- NFB Indigenous Cinema
An interdisciplinary forum for significant contributions to knowledge about the Ojibwe language. Published by the Bemidji State University. Audio files.
Find an abundance of interviews, poetry readings, songs, talks, singing and acting performances and more on the video-sharing website. For example:
- the1491s
- The Basement Revue: Lee Maracle (2014)
- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – Under Your Always Light (2017)
Organizations
National
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development CanadaAboriginal Canada Portal – Health & Social Services
Assembly of First Nations – Assemblée des Premières Nations
Canadian Indigenous Nurses
First Nations Health Authority
First Nations Information Governance Center
Indigenous Health
Indigenous Publishers in Canada
Innu Nation
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Métis National Council
National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO)
National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health
National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls
Provincial
Commission de la santé et des services sociaux des Premières Nations du Québec et du Labrador QuébecFirst Nations Health Council BC
Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services Québec
Projets autochtones du Québec
Public Health Department of the Cree Health Board Québec
Local
Centre de justice des premiers peuples de MontrealMontreal Indigenous Community NETWORK
Native Friendship Center Montréal
Native Montreal
Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal
Wapikoni Mobile (in audiovisual tab)