Research guides: IST: Indigenous Studies: Primary sources

Identifying primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

Sources of information may be classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary. These categories reflect the originality of the materials and their relationship, or proximity, to their source of origin. Such categorization indicates whether the author of the resource is reporting or creating information first hand (primary source), or if they are conveying the experiences or opinions of others (secondary source).

Whether a source is considered primary, secondary, or tertiary depends on the focus of your research. For example, the Mellificium Chirurgiæ by Dr. James Cooke, 1667, was used as a medical reference manual and so, could be considered a tertiary source by its users. Researchers today however, may use Mellificium Chirurgiæ as a primary source to study the ideas, views, and practices of seventeenth century doctors.

Primary sources – objects, original documents or materials containing firsthand information about a topic. They are often one-of-a-kind or rare. When searching Library databases for these materials use the words 'sources' or 'documents' in combination with your topic. (i.e., "fur trade" AND sources).

Articles (newspaper/magazine) written at time of the event/period being studied
Personal records or documents such as diaries, journals, letters, emails, memos, etc
Autobiographies or memoirs
Photographs or film footage, news footage
Works of art, plays, scripts
Speeches or interviews
Government documents and records, legislation, transcripts of parliamentary proceedings
Court transcripts, law reports, police records
Oral histories, stories, lessons, and other oral knowledge
Artifacts: physical objects from the period such as clothes, furniture, buildings, household items or equipment

Secondary sources – are about an event or primary source. Secondary sources describe, interpret, analyze, evaluate, explain, comment on, or develop theories related to the primary source. They are written after the fact, with hindsight.

Articles (magazine/journal) written after the event/period being studied
Interpret, analyze and/or review earlier events or research
Books and e-books reflecting on past events
Often gather research materials from primary sources
Biographical material

Tertiary sources – list, compile, digest or index primary or secondary sources. They can be a good place to look up facts or get a general overview of a subject.

Reference books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, chronologies, or bibliographies
Almanacs, fact books, manuals
Sources that compile (e.g., indices), analyze, and digest secondary sources

Working with primary sources

Talking Back to the Indian Act: Critical Readings in Settler Colonial Histories by Mary-Ellen Kelm & Keith D. Smith, 2018
Call Number: KE 7709.2 K45 2018
Talking Back to the Indian Act is a comprehensive 'how-to' guide for engaging with primary source documents. The intent of the book is to encourage readers to develop the skills necessary to converse with primary sources in more refined and profound ways. Through an analysis of thirty-five sources pertaining to the Indian Act — addressing governance, gender, enfranchisement, and land — the authors provide readers with a much better understanding of this pivotal piece of legislation, as well as insight into the dynamics involved in its creation and maintenance.
Strange Visitors: Documents in Indigenous-Settler Relations in Canada From 1876 by Keith D. Smith, 2014
Call Number: E 92 S77 2014
Covering topics such as the Indian Act, the High Arctic relocation of 1953, and the conflict at Ipperwash, Keith D. Smith draws on a diverse selection of documents including letters, testimonies, speeches, transcripts, newspaper articles, and government records. Smith provides guidance on the unique challenges of dealing with Indigenous primary sources by highlighting the critical skill of "reading against the grain." Each chapter includes an introduction and a list of discussion questions, and background information is provided for each of the readings. Organized thematically into fifteen chapters, the reader also contains a list of key figures, along with maps and images.
Reconciling Canada: Critical Perspectives on the Culture of Redress by Jennifer Henderson & Pauline Wakeham, 2013
Call Number: FC 105 R46 R43 2013
Truth and reconciliation commissions and official governmental apologies continue to surface worldwide as mechanisms for coming to terms with human rights violations and social atrocities. Reconciling Canada provides readers with the contexts for understanding the phenomenon of reconciliation as it has played out in this multicultural settler state. Assembled together for the first time is a collection of primary documents - including government reports, parliamentary debates, and redress movement statements - prefaced with contextual information.

IST: Indigenous Studies

Finding primary sources for Indigenous Studies

Videos and Tutorials: Primary, Secondary & Tertiary sources

Identifying primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

Working with primary sources