RDP Library: Indigenous Resources: Articles & Databases

TIP

Access to most articles and databases is restricted to Red Deer Polytechnic students, faculty, and staff. To access these resources from off-campus, you will need to login. For more information, please see My Library Account or contact the Library.

Recommended Databases

Search Tips

A database is an organized collection of information, usually academic journal articles. Searching within databases can be time consuming, but there are advantages to this research strategy:

Databases are usually limited by academic discipline, which means you'll retrieve fewer results but they may be more relevant
Databases are highly structured, which means you can perform complex searches using controlled vocabulary

Tip: Searching databases with keywords is a good starting strategy. However, be aware that some databases may use different terminology. When you find a relevant article, check the subject headings and article description for terminology that could be useful.

Red Deer Polytechnic Library recognizes that our catalogue and resource descriptions contain language that reflects the biases, norms, and perspectives of the time in which they were created. In particular, for resources about persons and groups, this language is often outdated and harmful. These descriptions also incorporate controlled vocabularies, such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings, which include some headings (e.g., Indians of North America), that are offensive or inappropriate. We use international standards for description, but support and actively participate in efforts to update and change these practices as we strive for descriptions that are inclusive, respectful, and do not cause harm. We acknowledge the critical importance of community consultation in these efforts, and as residents on Treaty 7 and Treaty 6 territories and Métis Region 3 we commit to working together with our local communities to make these changes.

Multidisciplinary Databases

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
This database provides complete coverage of multidisciplinary journals.
Subject Terms: First Nations, Metis, Inuit, Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, Indigenous peoples, names of specific nations.
Some articles have no Subject Terms assigned, so also try full-text searches.
Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA Complete) This link opens in a new window
This database combines full-text and indexed content from all four CBCA database subsets – Business, Current Events, Education and Reference.
Search terms: Indigenous peoples, Indigenous populations, Native peoples, Native North Americans, Native Americans, Metis, Inuit.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This database is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.
Search keywords: First Nations, Native American, Indigenous, Aboriginal, Metis, Inuit.
JSTOR is not a current database, but rather an archive of back issues, with a 1-5 year gap between current issues and available back issues.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
This database contains full-text versions of scholarly journals and Open Access academic books. Includes arts, humanities, social sciences and mathematics.
Search keywords: First Nations, Native American, Indigenous, Aboriginal, Metis, Inuit.

Education

ERIC This link opens in a new window
This database covers all aspects of education from preschool to post-secondary as well as adult education.
Search terms: Canada Natives, Métis (People), Eskimos, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Indigenous populations. Use the Thesaurus for more terms and more precise terms.

Health

Native Health Database
This database contains bibliographic information and abstracts of health-related articles, reports, surveys, and other resource documents pertaining to the health and health care of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Canadian First Nations.
If there is "no media available" for a specific resource, please request an interlibrary loan.

History & Culture

America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
This bibliographic resource provides information focusing on the history and life of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Search terms: Native American, First Nations, Indigenous people, Indian, and Aboriginal.
Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America This link opens in a new window
This bibliographic database covers all aspects of native North American culture, history and life.
Search terms: Alaska Eskimos, Alaska natives, Baffinland Inuit, Canadian Inuit, eastern Metis, Native Canadians. Use historic keywords: Niska for Nisgaa; Nootka for Nuu-chah-nulth.
Indigenous Peoples: North America This link opens in a new window
This database provides material on historical experiences, cultural traditions & innovations, and political status of Indigenous Peoples in the US and Canada.
Gale Primary Sources: a barrier-free collection accessible by all Albertans in perpetuity.

Literature

MLA International Bibliography with Full Text This link opens in a new window
This database provides an index for books and articles published on modern languages, literature, folklore and linguistics.
Search terms: folk-literature, folk narrative, oral history or search by author name: Sherman Alexie, Joy Harjo, Gerald Vizenor, Lee Maracle, Thomas King, etc.

Recommended Academic Journals

Search Tips

Academic journals are periodical publications containing academic articles. Academic journals are considered scholarly because they have been through the evaluative process of peer-review.

Academic journal articles are usually found in databases. However, you can also search within specific journals.

Recommended Peer-Reviewed Journals

Permissions and Acknowledgement:

This guide contains content adapted with permission from X̱wi7x̱wa Library. If you use any of the information, please ensure to comply with the terms and conditions of use imposed by the owners or licensees of those materials.

This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.