Research Guides: Indigenous Knowledges and Perspectives: Terminology

Terminology

Terminology resources
Search terms

The following resources will help inform the terminology you use when referring to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.

Terminology Guide (Office of Indigenous Initiatives at Queen's University)
Indigenous Foundations (From the University of British Columbia)
First Nations, Metis and Inuit – Indigenous Ontologies (FNMIIO)
The National Indigenous Knowledge and Language Alliance (NIKLA) and the CFLA-FCAB Indigenous Matters Committee – Red Team Joint Working Group on Classification and Subject Headings released this living document, which is a list of Indigenous names to better reflect how Indigenous people currently prefer to refer to themselves.
Indigenous Terminology Guide (From the University of Waterloo)
Terminology page (From Honouring Indigenous Peoples (HIP))
A rose by any other name is a mihkokwaniy (From Chelsea Vowel's blog, âpihtawikosisân)

As you are searching for resources through various databases, you will find that historical documents may use terminology that is inappropriate or insensitive when referring to Indigenous Peoples. In addition to this, the descriptions of resources, such as those found in the library record, may also contain harmful and insensitive language.

Subject headings

Introduced in the late 1800s, the Library of Congress Subject Headings is evidence of the colonial history of classification in libraries. This means that offensive language continues to be a part of the controlled vocabulary which is used to find information. For example, "Indians of North America" is currently still an official subject heading and libraries and library groups are working on initiatives to change such subject headings to be more respectful and inclusive. At Queen's University Library, we are currently in the process of modifying "Indians of North America" to "Indigenous Peoples."

Examples of subject headings that you can use to find materials about Indigenous Peoples in the library catalogue:

Keyword searching

Unlike subject headings, which are standardized and controlled vocabulary, keyword searching is using words you think best describe your topic and which are likely to have been used by the author(s), for example. Use the "Terminology resources" tab to help you come up with keywords for your search on Indigenous topics. Depending on the keywords you select/use, you will either narrow or broaden your search (view the "Search Tips & Strategies" section below for more information and examples).

Search tips & strategies

Vary your search terms and use Boolean operators to expand or limit your search results
- The term Indigenous is broadly used to describe many peoples worldwide.
- Use terms such as First Nations, Métis, Inuit or specific names of Nations to refine your search results.
Be aware of modern terminology
- Outdated terms will produce results from older sources. Terms like "Indian" are rarely used in literature today outside of certain historical or legal contexts, such as The Indian Act. Many Nations use authentic names that differ from names created by colonists (example: Nlaka'pamux rather than Thompson River Salish). Use self-descriptive terms to find recent work by and/or about communities.
Use terms people use to describe themselves
- There may be multiple commonly used terms to refer to the same Nation/Band/people (ex: Cree and Néhiyaw). Search both terms individually or use Boolean searching constructions to find results containing either terms (Cree OR Néhiyaw).
Search relevant databases available through the library
Research authors
- Indigenous authors may self-identify in their bio or on their website. *Note while researching: be cautious of assumptions about a person's identity based on appearance or stereotypical expectations; appearance is not a reliable indicator of one's racial, ethnic, cultural, or national background.

The "Search Tips & Strategies" content on this page was reused from a Research Guide entitled "Indigenous Education" By NorQuest College Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. We thank them for sharing these with us so that we may learn from them.