Native American and Indigenous Studies

This page will contain tips and strategies for researching topics related to NAIS.

A Note on Terminology

Keep in mind that the words people use to talk about relevant topics will vary greatly depending on their group identity, academic training, language, context and perspective. For example, Native American, Indigenous, American Indian and/or more specific identities like Kumeyaay -- all are used in different contexts by different people. Words carry meaning and reflect both power dynamics and the identities of those creating and organizing information.

The way information is organized often reflects the prejudices of those who create the system. While they have been striving for change, the Library of Congress has used many outdated terms to refer to groups of people. The Library of Congress uses controlled vocabularies and subject headings to classify bibliographic material. These subject headings are standardized, and they are difficult to change. Problematically, the United States' colonial history is evident in the way the Library of Congress has historically classified certain topics. This issue is nowhere more apparent than in its classification of issues surrounding Native American and indigenous peoples' history and culture. 

Currently, the Library of Congress still uses outdated terminology to classify Native American topics and issues. Popular subject headings include

• American Indians
• Indians, Treatment of
• Indians of North America

Slowly over time, advocates have been petitioning the Library of Congress to update its controlled subject heading vocabulary to provide an authentic representation of Native Americans' lived experiences. As the transition from older to newer terminology is accomplished, we find many resources have a blend of older and newer subject headings. Newer subject headings include

• First nations of North America
• Indigenous peoples
• Native Americans

References

Franklin Pierce University

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are a standardized way of organizing and categorizing books and other materials in libraries. Think of them as a labeling system that helps you find books on the same topic, no matter what words the author used in the title.

You can use the browse subject headings function in SDCCD Books+ to discover prominent subject headings in our collection. Keep in mind that subject headings are a controlled vocabulary predetermined by the Library of Congress; therefore, they do not work like keywords. 

Developing good keywords is one of the most important steps in the research process! This box will contain tips ensuring your keywords are ready for searching. 

If you are struggling to pick a topic for your research, here are a few things to consider:

• Look at your assignment prompt! Your professor has likely laid out exactly what they expect from your research project. You likely also have textbooks or readings from your class to consult and help you pick a topic. 
• If you're still stuck, use our database Opposing Viewpoints to browse current issues or "hot topics."

Now that you have a topic chosen, you will need to develop a research question! Think to yourself, "what question am I trying to answer in my project?" For example, a good research question will look like, "How does mass incarceration disproportionately affect Black men compared to White men?"

Once you have a research question, you are ready to start brainstorming keywords! We recommend using a keywords table to help the brainstorming process. Below are a couple of slides on how to build your own keyword table.