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Indigenous Studies Guide

鈥淚ndigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.鈥�

Article 31, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007.

Our Land Acknowledgement

sa传媒有限公司 acknowledges that the land on which we usually gather is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the x史m蓹胃kw蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam), Skwxwu虂7mesh (Squamish), and S蓹l虛i虂lw蓹ta蕯/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live and work in this territory.

Getting Started

Indigenous Studies encompasses research and learning that includes the 鈥渓anguages, histories, geographies, and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples. It may (or may not) intersect with critical approaches, such as decolonization and colonial studies鈥� (Xwi7xwa, 2025).

Pronunciation Guide

Katzie (KATE-zee) 路 Kwantlen (KWANT-len) 路 Kwikwetlem (kweh-KWET-lem) 路 Musqueam (muss-KWEE-um) 路 Qayqayt (keh-KITE) 路 Semiahmoo (se-mi-AH-moo) 路 Squamish (SQUA-mish) 路 Sto:lo (STAW-low) 路 Tsawwassen (tsah-WASS-en) 路 Tsleil-Waututh (SLAY-wha-tuth)

-(Territorial Acknowledgements, n.d.)

Learn More

Learn more about the Nations on which you conduct your studies at AC by exploring their websites:

Keywords

When looking for resources related to Indigenous Studies, try some of these keywords in your searching :

e.g., Residential Schools AND Reconciliation

* Interested in learning more about using keywords for research? Check out our videos on how to create and search using keywords on our Research Skills page.

Articles & Databases

Articles and Databases page

Books

Non-Fiction Books in the Library

Fiction Books in the Library

Want to reserve one of these titles? Email library@alexandercollege.ca with your student # and the book title.

E-Books

These e-Books are available in the online library collection. Click the title to access the resource.

  • Milly, John and Mary Jane McCallum 路 2017
  • Merasty, Joseph Auguste and David Carpenter 路 2017
  • Geddes, Gary 路 2017
  • Barman, Jean 路 2019
  • Hargreaves, Allison 路 2017
  • Hogue, Michel 路 2015
  • MacKinnon, Doris Jeanne 路 2018
  • d鈥橝nglure, Bernard Saladin 路 2018
  • McCall, Sophie et al. 路 2017
  • Kermoal, Nathalie J. et al. 路 2016
  • Tomlins-Jahnke, Huia, Sandra D. Styres, Spencer Lilley, and Dawn Zinga 路 2019
  • Smith-Morris, Carolyn 路 2019
  • Blackhawk, Ned and Isaiah Lorado Wilner 路 2018
  • Furlan, Laura M. 路 2017
  • Sargent, Sarah 路 2016
  • Inner, Robert Alexander and Kim Anderson 路 2015
  • Anderson, Kim, Maria Campbell and Christi Belcourt 路 2018
  • Shaheen-Hussain, Samir 路 2020
  • Frideres, James S. 路 2019
  • Turner, Nancy J. 路 2020
  • Tidridge, Nathan 路 2015

Further Resources

Open access resources are resources that are available to everyone for free online. Links here will lead to sites where you can download textbooks or access journals related to Indigenous Studies.

An open access textbook that surveys Canadian History until 1867, including a chapter on Aboriginal Canada before Contact.

This text reviews Indigenous science topics including the historical foundations and Indigenous scientific curriculum.

Book 2 covers a metaphorical study and culturally appropriate projects based on curriulumm level (e.g. high school).

Shingwauk Narratives consist of a series of letters from Rev. Edward F. Wilson and Rev. George Ley King, first and four principals of the Shingwauk Indian Residential School. The letters provide details about daily life at the school, and are an important resource to understand the social and political context in which residential schools operated.

Website for the department of the Government of Canada responsible for policies relating to Indigenous peoples.

Created by groups affected by residential schools in Canada, this site is the permanent home for statements, documents and other materials to share history and move forward.

A digital map of Indigenous territories all over the world.

This guide, created by the City of Vancouver, is a short introduction to Indigenous communities in Vancouver and Canada. It was created specifically for individuals who are new to Vancouver.

This is a 32-page guide launched by Surrey Local Immigration Partnership (Surrey LIP); it serves to provide information on the traditional protocols, histories, and current realities of Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit people in Canada. It was created specifically for individuals who are part of newcomer communities in Surrey.

Collection of historic and modern treaties by the Canadian government.

A searchable database of first nations, tribal councils, and reserves.

A website created by First Nations and Indigenous Studies at UBC to assist students, instructors, and the public on aboriginal topics (identity, land, government policy, culture, and more) in Canada.

A list of detailed Research Guides compiled by UBC鈥檚 Xwi7xwa Library. Xwi7xwa Library is UBC鈥檚 centre for academic and community Indigenous scholarship.

This is a free 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. The course explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada from an Indigenous perspective.

Website for the department of the Government of Canada responsible for policies relating to Indigenous peoples.

DVDs

Stream more films by and about Indigenous peoples in Canada through and CBC Gem.

Land Acknowledgements

What are they?

Land acknowledgements (also referred to as territorial acknowledgement) are 鈥渞espectful, yet political, statement[s] that acknowledg[e] the colonial context of the Indigenous territory / territories where a gathering is taking place. It recognizes relationships between land and people, and in particular Indigenous peoples鈥� continued presence on the lands being acknowledged.鈥� (Xwi7xwa, 2024).

How do I provide a meaningful land acknowledgement?

See this guide from the , which further details the importance of constructing meaningful land acknowledgements. Land acknowledgements should be 鈥渟tated from the heart, be personal, and some recommend including an action towards reconciliation. Taking this approach keeps acknowledgements from being a token gesture, or being a checklist item鈥� (Simon Fraser University, 2023).

sa传媒有限公司 invites you to learn more about the land you are situated on through using this free by Native Land.

A few basic tips for creating a land acknowledgement include:

  1. As the speaker, give recognition to the land that you are on.
  2. Provide positionality, explain your connection to that land.
  3. Bring others into the conversation, initiate dialogue with the room that allows people to share their own relationship to the land they are on.

How to Cite

Online WLC guides can be found here. You can also book an appointment with the Writing and Learning Centre for workshops and one-on-one learning help.

Need help? Connect with a Librarian through AskAway!

Reference List

Simon Fraser University. (2023, September 6). Traditional territories: SFU鈥檚 land acknowledgements | SFU Library.

Territorial Acknowledgements. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2025, from

Xwi7xwa, L. (2024, November 25). Research Guides: Xwi7xwa – Distance Research: Doing Land Acknowledgements.

Xwi7xwa, L. (2025, February 7). Research Guides: First Nations and Indigenous Studies: Getting Started.

Younging, G. (2025). Elements of Indigenous Style (Second). Brush Education Inc.

Page Revised March 5, 2025 by Rebecca Ardron

sa传媒有限公司 acknowledges that the land on which we usually gather is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the x史m蓹胃kw蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam), Skwxw煤7mesh (Squamish), and S蓹l虛铆lw蓹ta蕯/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work in this territory.

sa传媒有限公司 acknowledges that the land on which we usually gather is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the x史m蓹胃kw蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam), Skwxw煤7mesh (Squamish), and S蓹l虛铆lw蓹ta蕯/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work in this territory.

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