History: Indigenous/Aboriginal/Native American/First Nations Primary Sources

This page is a work in progress, and we haven't come close to filling it with representative primary sources from all indigenous peoples of the Earth. In many cases, primary sources have not made it online, or been translated to English. So here are some resources for finding what is missing.

To save you a lot of trouble if you are creating audiovisual media: Google the pronunciation of the word. Native speakers often make recordings, and even if not, you can find the phonetic spelling. Learning from and using the cultural gifts of peoples who have been injured and insulted over the centuries requires at least the minimal etiquette of saying their names and words correctly.

Another point of etiquette is that if you have any sort of public platform about indigenous cultures or issues, you should make a land acknowledgement (keep it simple, brief, and accurate, and don't make it about you.)  

Please bear in mind that translators often come with their own agenda, and this is particularly true of translators who are immersed in a culture for purposes of colonization or religious conversion! Even people who are trying to be helpful can easily misunderstand or romanticize.

Some indigenous cultures are "closed" - that means that they do not welcome outsiders learning about all aspects of their ways of life and ways of thinking. When you consider how they have been treated by outsiders in the past several centuries, it makes sense. We have to accept that if they feel their treasures will not survive interpretation without being distorted or subverted, it is because they know best about what's theirs.  

If you learning from or interviewing an indigenous person, there will probably be etiquette to follow. Particularly if the person is designated an elder in their community, there will be protocol. Do a little research and asking around. If you can't find anything on etiquette and protocol specifics, just bear in mind that you are asking them to do work for you, so they are the expert. Treat them with respect. Use their titles. Do not waste their time. Follow their lead in terms of pace and tone. Don't pry. Make it convenient and comfortable for them in terms of place and time. In many cases, if you are asking for the knowledge or experience of an elder, offer an honorarium, or else a small gift or a donation to their favorite charity. 

When looking at indigenous primary sources, consider:

• Translations of histories, literature, folktales, and religious stories
• Pictures of visual arts, including those built into practical objects
• Pictures of historical artifacts 
• Recordings of music, dance, theater, and storytelling
• Translations and translated recordings of oral histories
• Statistics, reports, and outreach/activism materials of indigenous organizations

In Canada, the appropriate term for indigenous peoples is First Nations. In the United States, most people accept Native Americans; however the older term Indians or American Indians is reclaimed by some people. Outsiders should not use "Indian" except when quoting, or if asked to by an indigenous person.

Whenever possible, use the specific names of tribes and nations rather than the general term. This is particularly important in North America, where "pan-Indianism" in media and academia have blurred the distinctiveness of the cultures.

When possible, use the people's own name for themselves and not an exonym (Haudenosaunee, not Iroquois; Oceti Sakowin, not Sioux, Aleut or Inupiat not Eskimo.) The first time you mention the correct name, you may add the common name in parentheses if necessary, and simply use the correct name from then on.

Throughout much of North America, the courtesy when asking to learn from an elder (which would include interviewing them or getting an oral history) is to offer tobacco. It is important to set the tobacco down, rather than hand it to the elder, because if they pick it up, it signifies their agreement. For this reason, if you are working online because of long distances, you may email a request saying "I would like to offer you tobacco to..." and if they agree, you can mail them the offering.

Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders prefer that language, or First Australians, rather than "indigenous." 

Please be mindful of a culture-specific courtesy of warning readers/viewers/visitors to a web site if they are likely to see or hear a picture/recording of a person, in case that person has died. If you are referring to a person who may have died, do not mention their first name or portray an image of them. For purposes of writing about an aboriginal person, you can call them by their first initial and last name, and avoid using a picture of them unless absolutely necessary. Extended family, extensive hereditary knowledge transmission, cultural identity and belonging, and beliefs are all combined in a complicated way that does not need to be fully understood to be taken seriously.