Terminology & search strategies

Terminology

Media

CBC News. (2017). How to talk about Indigenous people (YouTube Video, 2 min, 37 sec)

Concordia University. (2017).  Indigenous Directions: Territorial Acknowledgement with pronunciation.

Concordia University. (2019). Indigenous Elder and Community Protocols.

Books

Vowel, C. (2016). Indigenous writes: a guide to First Nations, Metis and Inuit issues in Canada. Winnipeg: Highwater Press. (ebook)  

Younging, G. (2018). Elements of Indigenous style: a guide for writing by and about Indigenous peoples. Edmonton: Brush Education. (ebook)

Joseph, R.P.C. (2019). Indigenous relations: insights, tips & suggestions to make reconciliation a reality. Indigenous Relations Press. (print book)

Michelson, G., Michelson, K., & Deer, G. (2024). A dictionary of Kanien'kéha (Mohawk) with connections to the past. University of Toronto Press. (print book)

Oxord, W. (2019). Indigenous Languages in Canada.  Canadian Language Museum. Covers topics such as: approaching the study of Indigenous languages from an informed and respectful perspective; the effects of contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous languages; the current vitality of Indigenous languages in Canada. (ebook)

Canadian Geographic Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (2018). National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Metis Nation and Indspire. Volumes 1 - 4, with a Glossary of Indigenous terms in Volume 1. (print book)

Online resources 

Mikana Resources - an Indigenous non-profit organization whose mission is to work towards social change by educating different audiences on the realities and perspectives of Indigenous peoples, located in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal.

Mikana. (2022). Terminology Guidelines within Indigenous Contexts  (PDF)

Mikana, Concordia Office of Community Engagement, Montreal Indigenous Community Network. (2022). Decolonial Toolbox: Educational Pathway  (PDF)

• Decolonial Toolbox: Resources for the Concordia Community (Zotero list) assembles all videos, podcasts, websites and books described in the Decolonial Toolbox, a collaboratively-produced learning guide from the Office of Community Engagement and local Montreal organizations.

Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network. (2019). Indigenous Ally Toolkit. (PDF)

âpihtawikosisân/C. Vowel. Indigenous Issues 101 Primers

First Nations & Indigenous Studies UBC. (2009). Indigenous Foundations: Terminology.  

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. A Note on Terminology: Inuit, Métis, First Nations, and Aboriginal. (PDF)

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls/Enquête nationale sur les femmes et les  filles autochtones disparues et assassinées. (2018). Lexicon of Terminology/Lexique terminologique  (PDF)

 Researching Indigenous Topics at the Library - Google Slides 2021 GradProSkills library workshop. (M. Lake, Concordia Library)

Recommended sources

Interdisciplinary Databases 

ProQuest Combined Canadian -Scholarly Canadian journal articles, newspaper articles, and theses

Academic Search Complete - Canadian, American and international scholarly journal articles, multidisciplinary.

Google Scholar - How to set up Google Scholar to find Concordia Resources - interdisciplinary articles from all subject areas

Indigenous Subject Databases 

Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America - Scholarly articles, books and government documents covering all aspects of Indigenous North American culture. Use Find it @ Concordia to locate articles.

Indigenous Studies Portal - Scholarly Canadian journal articles relating to Indigenous studies, including: decolonization, education, Indigenous knowledge, research methods and science.

Yellowhead Institute Community Resource Library - includes reports, factsheets, infographics and more from a First Nation-led research centre based in the Faculty of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University

Northern and Arctic Studies Portal (Atiku) -  the best international documentary resources for research on the North and the Arctic, presented in 3 thematic collections and 6 collections by types of documents.

Autochtonia - Books, articles, and theses about the First Peoples in Quebec, in French.

Education Databases 

Education Source - Complete collection of full-text education journals, from early childhood to higher education

ERIC - Current journals in education and related disciplines, the majority of which are peer reviewed. 

Search strategies

The following search strings and keywords are recommended for searching in recommended library databases listed above or in the Sofia Discovery tool to retrieve scholarly books and articles related to decolonizing curriculum and relevant Indigenous topics.

Decolonizing pedagogy and curriculum

(decolon* OR indigeniz* OR reconciliat*) AND (pedagog* OR curric* OR teach* OR lesson*) AND (universit* OR college OR "higher education" OR post-secondary)

(indigenous OR aboriginal OR "first nations" OR inuit OR metis) AND (educat* OR teach* OR pedagog* OR curric*) AND  (universit* OR college OR "higher education" OR post-secondary)

Colonialism

(colonial* OR coloniz*) AND (indigenous OR aboriginal OR native OR "first nations" OR inuit OR metis) AND settler AND canad*

(colonial* OR coloniz* OR colony) AND (indigenous OR aboriginal OR native OR "first nations" OR inuit OR metis) AND (surviv* OR resist*) AND Canad*

("indian act" OR "indian status") AND Canad* AND govern* 

Residential schools

("residential school*" OR "boarding school*" OR "industrial school*") AND  (indian OR indigenous OR aboriginal OR native OR "first nations" OR inuit OR metis) AND Canad*

"Residential school*" AND ("truth and reconciliation commission" OR TRC OR reconciliation) AND Canad*

Indigenous Knowledges

("traditional knowledge" OR "indigenous knowledge") AND  (pedagog* OR curric* OR teach* OR lesson*) AND Canad*

("land as pedagogy" OR (land AND (pedagog* OR curric* OR teach* OR lesson* OR educat*))) AND Canad*