Use LibrarySearch to find books, videos, theses, government documents and other resources in the Library collection.

Different terms/keywords may be effective when searching for Indigenous topics, depending on:

• time period of study
• date of publication
• country/region of study
• whether the search is for general (e.g. Aboriginal) or specific information (e.g. Snuneymuxw).

The term "Indians of North America" was widely used by libraries in the first part of the twentieth century, and may be useful to retrieve information from that period.

In BC the term First Nations is frequently used in contemporary academic/educational environments. The Canadian government favours the terms Indigenous or Indigenous Peoples, which also includes Métis and Inuit.

In the United States the term Native Americans is quite commonly used, whereas in Canada the term Native Peoples gained popularity in the later twentieth century.

Your searches will be more productive if you are aware of these various search terms and make them work for you.

Searching for information "about" your treaty

Keywords/Terms

Use quotation marks to hold a phrase together in the search results.

Example

Use: "treaty one" instead of: treaty one

Consider treaty names and alternative names to develop an OR search statement composed of synonyms for the purpose of your search to retrieve broad search results. If you are not aware of alternative names or spellings, look in the provided article and in the initial list of search results. Group the similar terms together in brackets.

Examples

("treaty one" OR "treaty number one" OR "stone fort treaty")

("treaty no. 9" OR "james bay treaty" OR "treaty number nine")

Finding Sources

Search for context by treaty:

Examples

"treaty 8" negotiation

("treaty no. 9" OR "treaty 9" OR "james bay treaty") "indigenous perspectives"

 "treaty 6" "indigenous perspectives"

Additional Strategies

• Internet Archive

  "...digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public."
• Canadian Government Information DPN Web Archive

  "The mission of the CGI DPN is to preserve digital collections of government information. Digital preservation...means ensuring the long-term viability of digital materials through geographically dispersed servers, protective measures against data loss, and forward format migration. Digital materials produced by government agencies that are at risk of being lost are preserved as part of the program." Includes:
  - Government of Canada Publications
  - Government of Canada Web Content
• Vancouver Island University Library Web Archive