Indigenous Studies

This guide is a starting point for students in Indigenous Studies, or for other interdisciplinary studies related to Indigenous peoples.

Canadian Sources

Aboriginal Documentary Heritage
From Library and Archives Canada
The Champlain Society's Digital Collection
It includes first-hand accounts of European encounters with First Nations people.
Colonial Despatches
"This digital archive contains the original correspondence between the British Colonial Office and the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. This project aims to digitize and publish online a complete archive of the correspondence covering the period from 1846 leading to the founding of Vancouver Island in 1849, the founding of British Columbia in 1858, the annexation of Vancouver Island by British Columbia in 1866, and up to the incorporation of B.C. into the Canadian Federation in 1871."
Early Canadiana Online
Primary sources in Canadian history, including literature, women's history, native studies, and history of French Canada. Selective access to full text
Indigenous Peoples of North America - Gale Primary Sources.
Our Legacy: University of Saskatchewan Archives
Peel's Prairie Provinces
For primary documents and images about Louis Riel and Prairie Nations.
Up and Down the Coast: Records of Missions to First Nations in British Columbia
Historic photographs and documents from the collections in the United Church of Canada National General Council Archives in Toronto, Ontario.

Michigan State University - Native American Studies Research Guide
Primary sources are documents that were recorded or written down at the time an event occurred. Primary sources can include diaries, letters, speeches, photographs, newspaper articles, government documents, and much more.