FNS 1020: INTRODUCTION TO FIRST NATIONS STUDIES Dan Sich, First Nations Studies Librarian

Overview  Primary and secondary sources  Finding journal articles (hands-on)  Search tips  Evaluating sources

Primary vs. secondary sources

Generally speaking…  Primary = created at time of event  Secondary = created later, looking back on event

Primary or secondary? PrimarySecondary

Someone’s diary entries about their experiences as a soldier A journal (diary) from 1942

A soldier’s letters to his parents Letters from 1942

An article about WWII A newspaper article from 1942

A history book about WWII, written in 1990 A book about WWII

A 2004 journal article framing the debate between Jesuit priests and Indigenous chiefs as a debate between Western and Indigenous ideas and knowledge. A journal article…

The transcripts of the Ojibwa-Jesuit debate at Walpole Island, 1844 Transcripts…

A 1994 journal article discussing, and reproducing the transcripts of, The Ojibwa-Jesuit debate at Walpole Island, 1844 Journal article with transcripts…

An interview (recorded today), about a battle in WWII, with a veteran who was involved Interview…

Primary sources are strong ‘evidence’ Secondary sources provide interpretation You can use both Know what you’re using, and why Why does it matter?

Where are the journal articles?

Databases and journal articles All of these are linked from the course library guide:  Google Scholar  Summon  iPortal (Indigenous Studies Portal)  Bibliography of Native North Americans

Points for hands-on and live demos 1. Demonstrate a search 2. What types of things are you finding? 3. Does the database have a subject focus? 4. Are there descriptions/abstracts of search results? 5. Can you see links to full text? 6. Do you think the results are relevant? 7. What do you like about this search engine? 8. What don’t you like about this search engine? 9. Would you use it for your own research?

(blind date example) Searching

Ideas for a topic  Traditional ecological knowledge  Indigenous knowledge  Colonization  Indigenous environmental thought  Native speeches

Research topic & question  General research topic: traditional indigenous ecological knowledge  Specific research question: How is traditional indigenous ecological knowledge transmitted?

Specific search strategy Tradition* AND (indigenous OR native OR indian OR aboriginal) AND (ecolog* OR environment*) AND (knowledge OR thought) AND (transmi* OR teach* OR learn*)

How do you know? Is this article any good?

Evaluating sources: the CRAAP test*  Currency: Is it up-to-date?  Relevance [after next slide]  Authority: Who wrote it? [next slide]  Accuracy: Can you verify it?  Purpose: Why was it written? Bias? *see link to video tutorial on library course page

Authority (for this particular topic)  Deborah McGregor  Gregory Cajete  Vine Deloria  Leroy Little Bear  Jim Dumont  Winona LaDuke  Joe Couture  Marlete Brant Castellano  Marie Battiste  James Sa’ke’j Youngblood Henderson  Linda Smith  Graham Smith

Relevance  Where (i.e. in what journal) was it published?  (How) Does it relate to your topic?  Read book table of contents  Read article abstract/description  Skim the article

How to read/skim an article 1. Abstract (menu) 2. Intro 3. Conclusion 4. Middle image source:

Summary  Primary and secondary sources  Finding journal articles: hands-on  Searching tips  Evaluating sources

Questions?  Dan Sich, First Nations Studies Librarian   ext