LibGuides: Indigenous Studies: Databases

Using Databases

Advantages to searching within databases as a research strategy:

Databases are often limited by academic discipline, which may give you fewer, but more relevant, results.
Databases are highly structured, which means you can perform complex searches using controlled vocabulary.

Each database may have their own way and limitations of searching within the database. Some may use "And," "Or," quotation marks and other search strategies, but some may not. If you are not getting the results you expected within a database, make sure the search is worded the way the database works. Look for links like "search tips" or a question mark icon next to the search fields to help you determine the best way to search. You can also ask us for help!

TIP: Searching databases with the keywords recommended in this research guide 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 in a new keyword search.

Selection of Databases

Below is a small selection of databases available to you through the OC library. If you don't see something here that relates to your subject area of interest, try searching the list of research databases by name.

Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America This link opens in a new window
Anthropological focused index of books, journal articles, essays, conference papers, dissertations and US government articles, including the 8-volume "Ethnographic Bibliography of North America". Search terms: Alaska Eskimos, Alaska natives, Baffinland Inuit, Canadian Inuit, eastern Métis, Native Canadians. Use historic keywords: Niska for Nisgaa; Nootka for Nuu-chah-nulth.
Bill Reid Centre Collection This link opens in a new window
A collection of images that records the arts and architecture of the various First Nations of the Pacific Northwest.
Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database (CBCA) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive Canadian database covering current events, policy, business, social issues, science, the arts, and Canadian academic information. Provides full text, back to 1985. Approximately 2/3rds of titles are published in Canada, making a good starting point for Canadian research.
Search Tips!
Check "Scholarly Journals" to eliminate popular magazines and newspapers from your search
Wildcards: Use * (asterisk) for truncation and ? (question mark) to replace a single character.
Click "Access OC" to locate articles that do not indicate full text availability.
Curio.ca This link opens in a new window
The new Curio.ca platform provides streaming access to the best in educational context from CBC and Radio-Canada. Find documentaries from TV and radio, news reports, archival material, excerpts and more.
Internet browsers Firefox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer v. 9 or higher are recommended for viewing videos.
Filmakers Library Online This link opens in a new window
Award-winning documentaries with relevance across the curriculum: race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more.
First Peoples' Map of B.C. This link opens in a new window
Presents connections between Indigenous language, land and culture.
Hear greetings and pronunciations of place names, find local Indigenous artists and public art, search important landmarks and cultural centres, explore cultural information, videos, images, and more.
Indigenous Peoples: North America This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection on the experience of the Indigenous Peoples of North America.
Indigenous Peoples: North America is sourced from both American and Canadian institutions, as well as direct-from-source from newspapers from various tribes and Indian-related organizations. The collection also features indigenous-language materials, including dictionaries, bibles, and primers.
Informit Indigenous Collection This link opens in a new window
Informit's Indigenous Collection brings together ground-breaking and emerging research with topical and historical issues paramount to Indigenous studies across the world.
- Centres on significant historical and contemporary aspects of Indigenous culture and experience
- Ideal for education, business and academic sectors seeking a better understanding of matters impacting Indigenous populations across the world
- Authoritative views, insights and voices from Indigenous individuals and groups
- Dedicated to content from and about Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Pacific region and North America, with articles by researchers worldwide
- Extensive coverage of current and historical information sources
- New articles added daily
iPortal: Indigenous Studies Research Portal This link opens in a new window
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.
This initiative began in 2005 at the University of Saskatchewan as a resource for faculty, students, researchers, and members of the community and currently links to nearly 50,000 items. Anyone can use the freely available materials in the iPortal but some resources are licensed and may only be available from your own library.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full text collection of 400+ scholarly journals in all disciplines. For most journals, coverage begins with the first issue published (as far back as 1665) and ends 3 to 5 years back from the present. Searching JSTOR will often retrieve older articles not found by other sources. Provides access to archival and current full-text issues of more than 1400 scholarly journals across more then 50 academic disciplines.
Provides access to archival and current full-text issues of more than 1,400 scholarly journals across more than 50 academic disciplines.
Search tips!
To increase precision, use Advanced and/or Expert search modes
By default, JSTOR looks for your search terms in the entire article. To reduce results, restrict your search to words in the Title and/or Author and/or Abstract as appropriate.
To restrict your search to research articles, check the box next to "Article" in the list of types.
JSTOR supports the use of wildcards for several different types of truncation. ? (question mark) replaces a single character, * (asterisk) replaces any number of characters, and & (ampersand) searches for singular and plural forms of a word, regardless of the number of characters.
Native Health Database This link opens in a new window
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, & Canadian First Nations.
Northern Justice Society Native Crime Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Searchable bibliography with references to a range of research, policy and program materials relating to Native involvement with the criminal justice system in the USA, Canada, and Greenland. Records were added to this database between approximately 1985 to 1994.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive selection of arts, humanities and social sciences journals and e-books. Also includes two Native American and Indigenous Studies e-book collections.
SALT Modern Poetry E-book Collection This link opens in a new window
Collection of 106 poetry books including modernist writing in the UK, post-War American and British experimental poetry, Native American poetry, and modern Australian poetry.