Research about Indigenous peoples has a long history of being done about communities rather than with them, and much of what was written from the outside was wrong or harmful. That history is why the order of your search matters. Start with what First Nations, Métis and Inuit people and organizations say about themselves, then judge every other source against that. Careful citation is part of the same respect: it shows exactly whose knowledge you are building on, and lets readers go to those voices directly.
Researching responsibly
| Type of source | Examples | What it is good for |
|---|---|---|
| National Indigenous organizations | Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Métis National Council, Native Women's Association of Canada | Positions and priorities in the organizations' own words |
| Nations and communities | A First Nation's, Métis community's or Inuit organization's official website | Preferred names and spellings, history, governance and current work |
| Primary documents | The TRC Calls to Action and final report; Reclaiming Power and Place | What the reports actually say, rather than what others say they say |
| Record-keeping centres | The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation | Survivor statements and records, shared under the Centre's own protocols |
| Indigenous-led media and research | APTN, Yellowhead Institute | Reporting and analysis from Indigenous journalists and researchers |
| Books by Indigenous authors | Fiction, poetry, memoir and non-fiction written by First Nations, Métis and Inuit writers | Self-representation and the texts you analyze |
| Tracking projects | CBC's Beyond 94 | Checking the status of individual Calls to Action |
- Who wrote it, and what is their relationship to the community? A community member, an organization the community controls, and an outside observer bring different knowledge and different limits.
- When was it written? Terms like 'Eskimo' or 'Indian' used as a general description are a strong signal of an old or outside source.
- What is its purpose? Informing, advocating, selling, or attracting clicks each shape what gets included.
- Does it show its evidence? Look for sources, named speakers and dates, not sweeping claims.
- Does it generalize? A source that describes 'Indigenous beliefs' as if there were one set is less reliable than one naming a specific nation.
- Can you confirm it laterally? Search what other credible sources — especially Indigenous-led ones — say about the claim and the author.
Red flags in a source
No author or organization named. Outdated or offensive terms used without comment. Stories described as 'legends' or 'myths' with no nation or teller credited. Spiritual practices packaged for sale. Claims to speak for all Indigenous peoples. An AI-generated summary with no traceable sources. Any one of these is a reason to find a better source, not a reason to cite this one with a warning.
Citing in MLA style
- In the text: put the author's surname and page number in parentheses after the quotation or paraphrase — (Surname 12). If you name the author in your sentence, the parenthesis holds only the page — (12). Sources without pages need only the author.
- On the Works Cited page: every source cited in the text appears, in alphabetical order by the first word of the entry (usually the author's surname), double-spaced, with a hanging indent — the first line at the margin and later lines indented.
- The core elements, in order: Author. Title of source. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location. Include the ones that apply and skip the rest.
- Organizations as authors: when an organization is both the author and the publisher of a report, MLA begins the entry with the title and lists the organization as publisher.
- Titles: italicize whole works (books, reports, websites); put shorter works inside a container (an article, a poem, a web page) in quotation marks.
- Paraphrase needs a citation too. Putting an idea in your own words does not make it your idea.
| Source | Works Cited pattern |
|---|---|
| Book | Surname, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. |
| Short work in a collection | Surname, First Name. "Title of Poem or Story." Title of Collection, edited by First Name Surname, Publisher, Year, pp. 10-18. |
| Web page | Surname, First Name, or Organization. "Title of Page." Name of Website, Day Month Year, URL. |
| Report by an organization that also publishes it | Title of Report. Organization, Year. |
Revise, edit, proofread — then reflect
| Stage | Question it asks | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Revising | Does the argument work? | Thesis, paragraph order, missing evidence, weak analysis, whole sections added or cut |
| Editing | Does each sentence say it clearly? | Wordiness, vague words, transitions, integration of quotations, consistent present tense |
| Proofreading | Is the surface correct? | Spelling, capitalization, punctuation, citation format, names spelled as the nation spells them |
- Capitalize Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Elder, Knowledge Keeper and Survivor.
- Check accents and spellings of names. Métis carries an accent on the e. Nation names often have specific spellings — Mi'kmaq is the plural noun and Mi'kmaw the singular and adjective form — so confirm each against the nation's own usage.
- Punctuate quotations and citations correctly: closing quotation mark, then the parenthetical citation, then the period.
- Read aloud. Your ear catches missing words, run-on sentences and awkward phrasing that your eye skips over.
- Do one pass per problem. Check citations in one read, capitalization in another, and spelling in a third, instead of hunting for everything at once.
- Reflect when you are done. Note which strategies helped (drafting the thesis before the introduction, reading aloud), what you would change next time, and how your understanding of the topic or your own position shifted while you wrote.