We want to hear from you!
If you have suggestions for Indigenous topics or resources that are not yet part of our collection, please let us know by emailing your ideas to lanningr@camosun.ca.
AIV icon
The Authentic Indigenous Voices (AIV) icon has been developed as a visual signifier for people seeking Indigenous created content from the Camosun Library. The icon is a starting point for readers to identify the creators of resources featured in library guides and may assist with the indigenization of course curricula, research, and other scholarly activities.
Look for the icon or words, "Authentic Indigenous Voices," next to library resources.
To find out more, visit the Authentic Indigenous Voices page on the Indigenizing Citations at Camosun guide.
If Camosun library does not have a specific article or book that you want, library staff can request it from another library.
Interlibrary loan service is provided to support research and study undertaken at Camosun and is available free to registered students, instructors and staff.
To place a request:
NOTE: There is a limit of 10 ILL requests per student per semester. There are also cost limits for individual items requested should there be a fee attached. Please review our policy should you have any questions.
Finding books & e-books
The Camosun library contains a wide variety of physical and e-books on Indigenous topics. Use the tools on this page to start your search.
As you review your search results, you will notice that records for physical books contain a "call number" and a location. While books related to Indigenous topics are present at both library locations, most are located on the second floor of the Lansdowne campus library.
Call numbers
A call number is an address which tells you where a resource is located in a library. All hard-copy resources in a library have a unique call number. Because books are arranged in call number order, you will find books on similar subjects located next to one another – this is a fantastic way to discover books related to your topic that you might not already know about.
Most books in the Camosun Library are arranged by the Library of Congress Classification System. The system uses twenty-one basic classes, each of which is identified by a letter of the alphabet. Most of these alphabetical classes are further divided into more specific subclasses, identified by two-letter, or occasionally, three-letter combinations.
Resources related to Indigenous topics can be found throughout the library collection as Indigenous Knowledge may relate to any topic (for example, art, literature, math, biology, etc.). However, much information related to Indigenous history and culture can be found in the E77 - E99 range.
E 77 - E99 – Indigenous History and Culture
E-books and more from Canada Commons
The Canada Commons collection provides content from Canada's scholarly and independent publishers as well as public policy papers from think tanks and government sources. It features a variety of e-resources by Indigenous authors and information on Indigenous topics.
Canada Commons collection content is not always represented using the library's Single Search tool. You can access Canada Commons using the links below, or using the A-Z database list to search for the latest holdings in this collection of Canadian e-resources.
A collection of ebooks (most with multi-user simultaneous access) and public documents from Canadian scholarly and independent publishers.
If you have a question about gaining access to a specific title, please contact the library.
There are many terms used to describe Indigenous peoples. In Canada, First Nations and Native Peoples are standard, but in the United States, Native Americans or American Indians are still common. Other frequently used terms include:
The two subject terms used frequently in our Library catalogue are Native Peoples Canada and Indians of North America. These are standard terms used in most academic libraries, even though they don't accurately reflect the current language used to describe Indigenous peoples in Canada today.
Try using these as search terms
Use "and" to combine topics e.g.
If you're looking for information on a specific people, search for that group: Haida, Salish, Metis, etc.
Be careful about alternate spellings: for example, Nisga or Niska or Nisga'a. Find the most resources by searching for all the different spellings together using "or": Niska OR Nisga OR Nisga'a