Research Guides: Indigenous Studies: Getting Started

Four Directions Writing Guide

Four Directions Writing Guide for Indigenous Students
Welcome! Tansi! Boohzoo! Ahniin! Sago! Waachiya!
The purpose of this guide is to help you (First Nations/Métis/Inuit/Other Indigenous students) with writing university level essays.

This guide is for all students who need assistance with their research journey. Please keep this guide to review and refer to throughout your time here at Ryerson University.

- Jamie Morin and Kelly Dermody, Ryerson University Library and Archives.

Quick Links

This guide is meant to provide you with some starting points for research in this subject area. If you are new to research and would like help with more general practices and techniques in library research, consider using one of our How-to guides, including the Beginner's Guide to Library Research.

The Canadian Encyclopedia Timeline of Indigenous Peoples
Note: This timeline presents key events and developments in Indigenous history in what is now Canada, from Time Immemorial to present. While no timeline can be exhaustive in its coverage, it provides a broad chronological overview to support educators and students.

Handbook of the North American Indians
Call Number: REF E 77 H25
Publication Date: 1978-2008
Encyclopedic summary of prehistory, history, cultures and political and social aspects of native peoples.

Indigenous Studies Portal (iPortal)
The Indigenous Studies Portal (iPortal) is a database of full-text electronic resources such as articles, e-books, theses, government publications, videos, oral histories, and digitized archival documents and photographs. The iPortal content has a primary focus on Indigenous peoples of Canada with a secondary focus on North American materials and beyond. Anyone can use the freely available materials in the iPortal but some resources are licensed and may only be available from your own library.

License Information coming soon!
America: History & Life [EBSCOhost]
America: History and Life is an index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. It indexes journals in the discipline of social sciences and humanities with selected articles from scholarly journals from as far back as 1910.

American Indian Culture and Research Journal
"In print since 1971, the American Indian Culture and Research Journal (AICRJ) is an internationally renowned multidisciplinary journal designed for scholars and the general public. The premier journal in Native American studies, it publishes book reviews, literature, and original scholarly papers on a wide range of issues in the fields of history, anthropology, geography, sociology, political science, health, literature, law, education, and the arts. It is published by the American Indian Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles."
Canadian Journal of Native Studies
As a general focus, the journal publishes anthropological, historical, sociological, political, legal, educational and cultural issues affecting First Nations people. Although the majority of articles deal with Indigenous peoples in Canada, it also publishes articles dealing with Indigenous peoples world-wide.
Handbook of North American Indians: Digitized on the Internet Archive
Volume 5 (Arctic)
Volume 8 (California)
Volumes 9 & 10 (Southwest)
Volume 11 (Great Basin)
Volume 13 parts 1 & part 2 (Plains)
Native Land - Indigenous Mapping
"This map is in honor of all the Indigenous Nations [of colonial states]. It seeks to encourage people — Native and non-Native — to remember that these were once a vast land of autonomous Native peoples, who called the land by many different names according to their languages and geography. The hope is that it instills pride in the descendants of these People, brings an awareness of Indigenous history and remembers the Nations that fought and continue to fight valiantly to preserve their way of life."
Statistics Canada -- Aboriginal Peoples in Canada