Background Information: Reference Resources

Reference books provide background information to help you put your research in context. They include encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, etc. Below are just a few reference books we have on Native Americans in the Jerome Library.

American Historical Images on File: The Native American Experience

MAIN REF E 77 .N358 1990

Includes more than 275 photographs and reproducible images from prehistory through 1990. Each image is accompanied by a caption which gives the historical and cultural background of the event, person, or subject portrayed.

The American Indian and the United States: A Documentary History

Main REF E93 .W27

Texts of important primary sources illustrating the relationship between Native Americans and the federal government. Materials are drawn from five principle sources: reports of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs, Congressional debates, judicial decisions, treaties, and acts of Congress.

Chronology of Native North American History

MAIN REF E77 .C555 1994

In addition to an in-depth chronology, this book contains bibliographies, introductory historical essays, excerpts from important speeches, copies of relevant historical documents, and citations to legal cases.

Encyclopedia of Native American Religions

MAIN REF E 98 .R3H73 1992

Tries to provide accurate, relevant information without violating the wishes or concerns of Native American religious practitioners. The volume takes a broad view of religion, and includes entries on social ceremonies and activities on medicine. No myths or texts of prayers, songs, etc. are listed or discussed.

Encyclopedia of North American Indians

MAIN REF E76.2 .E53 1996

This book has four basic types of entries: descriptions of tribes; biographies of significant individuals; entries that present brief overviews of significant topics, historical eras, and cultural traditions ("Voting." "African Americans and American Indians," "Dreams"); and definitions of terms and events ("black drink," "White Dog Cemetery").

Native America in the 20th Century

MAIN REF E76/2 /N36 1994

This encyclopedia contains articles on subjects such as art, economic conditions, education policy, government policy, health, legislation and law, public opinion, religion, and reservations as they relate to Native Americans. Articles are generally short, and conclude with bibliographies for further reading. This volume does not contain any biographies.

Native American History

MAIN REF E77 .N56 1996

This unusual book consists of side-by-side chronologies of Native American history and world history. It traces each history and tries to place the history of Native Americans in the larger world context. Contains a bibliography and an index.

Native American Issues

MAIN REF E98 .T77 T56 1996

Gives an overview of the current situation for Native Americans, a detailed chronology, biographical sketches, a directory of organizations and agencies, and annotated lists of additional resources. Excerpts from speeches by American presidents are included, as are tables giving historical statistics and figures.

Native North American Almanac

MAIN REF E77 .N37 1994

Demography, education, activism, and law/legislation are just four of sixteen chapters that each focus on a topic related to Native North Americans. The seventeenth chapter consists of brief biographies. You;ll also find a glossary, a bibliography of recommended reading, and an index in this volume.

Notable Native Americans

MAIN REF E89 .N67 1995

A biographical dictionary of more than 265 Native Americans. Entries are written by authorities in the field, and often have photos or illustrations along with a bibliography. Read the excellent introduction titled "Race, Culture, and Law: Question of American Indian Identity."

Background Information: Finding Books

It is usually best to explore the secondary literature before you look for documents. Books give you more indepth background than encyclopedias and dictionaries and may help you identify primary material including documents through footnotes and bibliographies.

BGSU Libraries Catalog

Start with the BGSU Libraries Catalog (BGLink) to search for items owned by the BGSU Libraries. Items in the catalog include books, journals, newspapers, government documents, sound recordings and more. If your aren't finding what you want in the catalog, ask a library staff member for help.

 

Subject Headings include:

• Indians of North America
• Indians of North America--Canada
• Specific names, places, or events such as:
  • Rosebud Indian Reservation
  • Kickapoo Indians
  • Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief 1768-1813
  • Wounded Knee Massacre SD 1890.

Word Searches:

• Use single terms or phrases: Shamans, Anasazi, Code talkers, Aboriginal
• Or combine terms to narrow your search:
  • Women Indians
  • Indians Health
  • Indians Education History
  • Custer Little Bighorn
  • Indians Diaries
  • Canada Indians
  • (Aboriginal or Native) and Canada

Guide to using boolean operators to refine your search.

OhioLINK Central Catalog

The OhioLINK Central Catalog lets you search the combined catalogs of 65 academic libraries in Ohio. You can borrow books from other OhioLINK libraries over the computer, and have them delivered to BGSU in two to three days time. Or, you can visit the libraries in person, and check books out with your valid BGSU ID card. There are online instructions for ordering materials over OhioLINK. Remember, you must be registered with BGSU's Library before you can order books from OhioLINK.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.

This is also an excellent source to search for known items--that is authors and publications cited in footnotes and bibliographies.

BGSU's Research Databases

Research Databases let you search for citations to articles in journal, magazines, and newspapers. Some of the research databases are full-text, so you can print out the item in its entirety. Currently, there are over 100 research databases available over the Web, such as Academic Search Premier, American Periodicals Series Online, and American History and Life. If you have trouble determining which database to choose, ask a library staff member. The databases described below are most likely to be useful for this research assignment.

America: History and Life

Citations to articles, dissertations, and book and media reviews on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.

American Periodicals Series Online, 1740-1900

This resource contains page images of more than 1,100 historic American magazines, journals, and newspapers. These resources illuminate the development of American culture, politics, and society across some 150 years. Articles can be searched by author, source, and words in the complete text.

Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, (1802-1902) MAIN INDEX AI3 .P7 Reader's Guide to Periodical Literture, (1900-1985) MAIN INDEX AI3 .R28x

Both Poole's and Readers' Guide provide citations to articles from popular magazines. Try one of these indices if you are interested in contemporary opinions and views on people, topics, or events.

New York Times Historical

New York Times Historical a searchable database of the entire contents of the New York Times begining in 1851. Includes articles, ads, comics and cartoons, editorials, reviews, photos, maps, etc. All articles are available as PDF files. Coverage: 1851- 3 years ago

Web Resources: Background, Current Information, Primary and Secondary Sources

Walpole Island (http://www.bkejwanong.com/)

Includes community profile, environmental issues, publications, and much more.

WWW Virtual Library - American Indians (http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/)

This is an extensive guide and index to Native American pages on the web. Sites are organized under such topics as culture, history, language, artists, movies, activist sites, gaming, etc.

American Indian History and Related Issues (http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/cla/departments/ais/faculty/trj/)

This world wide site is a developing site supervised by Professor Troy Johnson and is dedicated to the presentation of unique artwork, photographs, video and sound recordings which accurately reflect the history, culture and richness of the Native American experience in North America and has been expanded to include Indian people of Central America and Mexico.

First Nations Histories (http://www.tolatsga.org/Compacts.html)

This site is under development. The page master states that, "When complete these Histories will encompass approximately 240 tribal histories (contact to 1900). They will be limited to the lower 48 states of the U.S. but also include those First Nations from Canada and Mexico that had important roles (Huron, Micmac, Assiniboine, etc.)".

Native Web: Resources for Indigenous Cultures Around the World (http://www.nativeweb.org/")

The resources page allows you to search by subject, Nations, and geographically.

Native American Documents Project (http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/nadp.htm)

There are three sets of data at this site:

• Indexed Published Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1871)
• Ten tables of quantitative data (Allotment Data)
• Rogue River War and Siletz Reservation collection, most from the 19th century

Techniques for Evaluating American Indian Web Sites (http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ecubbins/webcrit.html)

The purpose of this Web page is to provide some guidelines useful for evaluating and identifying Web sites that contain accurate information and that are not exploitative of American Indians.

WebWIZARD

Your Guide to Becoming an Effective Web Searcher.

• Created by BGSU Reference Librarians.
• Five modules which guide you through searching for information on the web and evaluating web sites.

Assistance Evaluating Internet Sites

Just as books and journal articles must be evaluated to determine their accurracy and reliability, Internet sites must be carefully critiqued before accepting the information in them. Librarians have come up with a list of questions to help you determine the research quality of information you find on the Internet.

Finding Government Documents in the Library

With the exception of some periodical titles which are housed in Jerome and Science Periodicals Areas and shelved alphabetically by title, federal publications are arranged on the shelf by an alphanumeric system called the Superintendent of Documents Classification Scheme (SuDocs).

Letters stand for the publishing agency, for instance

• A for Agriculture
• C for Commerce
• L for Labor
• Pr for President
• and so forth

The numbers on the top line of the call number file differently than the Dewey or LC collections. The number following the period is a whole number NOT A DECIMAL.

The documents collection is housed in several locations depending upon subject and format.

• The main paper collection is next to Periodicals (South side, first floor)
• The microforms and microfiche are filed in cabinets next to the Documents Office (Room 140)
• CD-ROMS are filed in cabinets next to the front door of the Documents Office
• Journals are shelved in the Periodical Collections in Jerome and Science Libraries.

• Floor Plan--Government Documents

Finding Government Documents in Catalogs, Indexes, and Databases

We began cataloging government documents in 1987 so all documents published after 1987 are found in BGLink, the online catalog. You can search for documents just like any other material in the library--by title, subject, keyword, or author.

We have also been working for several years to add earlier titles in the catalog, so you may find historical series and titles as well. BGLink is often the best place to start your search for documents, especially when you have a citation, footnote, or reference

If you do not find what you are looking for search OhioLINK Catalog. You may find documents which BGSU owns but are not listed in our catalog yet. Search documents call numbers in our collection, or ask documents staff to verify whether we have it.

Catalog of U. S. Government Publications

The Catalog is a search and retrieval service that provides bibliographic records of U.S. Government information products. Use it to link to Federal agency online resources or identify materials distributed to Federal Depository Libraries. Coverage begins with 1976 and new records are added daily. Conduct a simple search:

• History AND Indians (booleon "and" in CAPS)
• "Native Americans" (phrase search in " " quotes")
• "Mineral Rights" AND Indians (combine phrases and booleon operators)

Paper Edition of the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

This early version of The Catalog provides access to federal publications published between 1895 and 1976. The format remained consistent, with the index in the back and cataloging entries in the front of each yearly volume, from 1895- June 1976. These early volumes and their companion cumulative indexes are located on the first floor of Jerome Library Reference Area.

• Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog, 1900-1970.
• Cumulative Title Index to the Monthly Catalog, 1789-1976.
• See the Monthly Catalog Guide for detailed instructions.

U.S. Serial Set Index

This index is now available online through Lexis-Nexis Congressional as well as in paper.

• Select the time period you want and search by subject, keywords, and proper names
• The indexing covers 1789 to date.
• Documents published before 1970 are NOT available full-text, but they are available in our Serial Set collection. See the guide to the Serial Set.

The paper index is shelved in the Documents Index Area of Reference on the first floor. It provides access to an extensive historical set called the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. You can search for general topics such as "Indians", proper names such as "Ottawas" or "Treaty of Greenville", or by areas, such as states.

There are several online research databases that index government information.

The most useful for documents research are listed below.

Congressional Indexes:

• Lexis-Nexis Congressional
  Is an excellent index to Congressional working papers from 1970 to date: laws, hearings, reports, and documents.
• CQ Weekly
  Congressional News articles from 1983 to date.

Legal databases:

• Lexis-Nexis Academic--Legal Research
  Provides access to U.S. federal case law from all levels, including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Courts, and to state case law from state high courts and appellate courts.

Indexes to agencies and to congress:

• PAIS Database Covers the literature of public affairs and indexes journals, books, and documents about government issues and policies. Begins in 1972. Full text is available for some publications, either from the OhioLINK Electronic JournalCenter or via links to the Internet.

Some documents are long, multi-volume sets. Generally these sets have their own indexes that provide access to the set. The resources listed below may be useful for many of your topics. You may browse the stacks or use the indexes available with the sets.

United States Congressional Serial Set

The Congressional Serial Set is a compilation of the historical working papers of Congress: Reports and Documents of the U.S. Congress. It DOES NOT index hearings. Jerome Library owns most of the Serial Set in one format or another. Below is a guide to the collection:

• American State Papers
  1st-14th Congress (1789-1816)
• • Online and in print. This set precedes the Serial Set and is locted in the documents stacks Y 1.1/2. There are 38 volumes (vols. 01-038). Volumes 7-8 cover Indian Affairs.

• 15th-43rd Congress (1817-1878) Congressional Serial Set nos. 1-1662.
  • These volumes are on microcards which are filed in boxes and are located in the documents collection following the American State Papers. Y 1.1/2:nos.

• 44th-69th Congress (1875-1925/26). Congressional Serial Set nos. 1663-8826.
  • These volumes are on microfiche and are located in the Documents Microforms Area. Ask a documents staff member for help locating the volumes you need. Some of these are also in paper, so you can check the documents stacks first, if you prefer paper to microfiche.

• 64th - the present congress (1915-to date) Congressional Serial Set nos.6897-
  • These volumes are in paper if we have them. There are some gaps, particularly before 1933. Search for volumes in the documents stack area: Y 1.1/2: no.

Congressional Debates

• Annals of Congress (1789-1837) 1st. - 25th Congress
  • Online version of the Annals
  • paper: X1-X18 (Documents Stacks)
  • microcard: X1-X25 (Documents Microforms)
• Register of Debates (1824-1837) 18th - 25th Congress
  • This is an online resource containing the debates of the 18th Congress, 2nd session through the 25th Congress, 1st session. There is obviously some overlap with the Annals of Congress
• Congressional Globe (1833-1873) 23rd-42nd Congress
  • Online version of the Globe
  • paper: X72-X179 (Documents Stacks)
  • microfilm: X72-X179 (Documents Microforms)
• Congressional Record (1874-to date) 43rd Congress-
  • Bound editions: X Cong. no.
    • online via GPO Access (1995-to date ) 104th - current Congresses
    • paper: (1874-1875, 1902-1976) 43rd-44th; 57th-94th Congresses
    • microfilm: (1976-1901) 44th-57th Congresses
    • microfiche: (1977-1982) 95th-97th Congresses
    • CD-ROM: (1985) 99th Congress
  • Daily editions (unbound): Xa. Cong. no.
    • online via GPO Access (1995-to date ) 104th - current Congresses
    • paper: (1983 to date)

Congress, Committee Publications and Laws

Indian Affairs, Laws, and Treaties. Ed. charles Kappler. (Y 4.In2/2:L 44/v.)

• See also: the OSU Library Digital Project
• Full text version of Volume II
• The Oklahoma State University Library has completed digitization of Volume II of "Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties." Digitization of Volumes I and III will be completed by the end of the year.

 

American Indian Policy Review Commission. Call number: Y 4.In 2/10
Browse the documents stacks for this set of hearings and reports, or search the BGLink catalog. Author search: United States. American Indian Policy Review Commission.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Publications (I 20. )

Numerous documents, reports, and publications shelved in the documents stacks under the I 20 call number.

• BIA web page
  • The BIA web page is still not available due to the Cobell Litigation. There is contact information including phone numbers if you go to this site.

U.S. Commissioner on Indian Affairs (Microfiche I 20.1: yr.).

Annual reports of the Commissioners, 1824-1949. These reports on microfiche and are filed in the cabinets near the Documents Office.

Census Publications. (I 7 through I 13, C 3)

Call numbers vary for the census which was taken every 10 years. Ask for help finding particular years. We have 1790 though 1990. The early volumes contain not only statistical tables but commentary on the life and conditions of the time the census was taken. See particularly vol. 7 of the 1890 Census, Indians Taxed and Not Taxed
(I 12.5) which contains information on Indian policy and social conditions.

• Or click on United States Historical Census Data
  This site was created by University of Virginia. The data presented here describe the people and the economy of the US for each state and county from 1790 to 1970.

Library of Congress

American Memory--Library of Congress

American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections.

• Includes manuscripts, movies, art, photograhy.

Smithsonian Publications

Bureau of Ethnology Annual Reports (SI 2.1: yr.)
We have 1882-1933. Papers, reports, studies of American Indians. Land cessions are reported in the 18th Annual Report. Index to the set is in the 48th Annual Report (1930-31).

• online version of the Land Cessions

 

Bulletins of the Bureau of American Ethnology. (SI 2.3: no.)
Series of reports on culture and anthropology. Index is Bulletin no. 200. There is also an online version of this index at the Smithsonian Site at

 

Handbook of North American Indians (SI 1.20;)
Series of volumes about Native Americans. This is an excellent source for overviews, and references to further readings.

State Department

Territorial Papers of the United States. (S 1.36: )

Papers, letters, reports from the territorial governors.

President

Available online: The American Presidency Project

Available in our collection: Messages and Papers of the Presidents (Y 4.P93/1:3/v.)

• Covers Washington through Wilson

 

Presidental Papers

• Hoover 1932- Reagan 1983, GS 4.113:
• Reagan 1983+ AE 2.114:

 

American Reference Library on CD-ROM

• Filed in the Documents CD-ROM Cabinet, E 173 A54
• This CD includes The President of the United States collection which consists of over 110,000 pages in over 100 volumes of prime source documents. The full text of the published public papers of the Presidents from George Washington to William Clinton are provided, including, of course, all the Inaugural Addresses and State of the Union Addresses.

Citing Sources

Uncle Sam- Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications, Unv. of Memphis

Step by step guide to citing government publications based on the Citing Government Information Resources style guide written by Diane Garner and Diane Smith.

This site has easy to follow explanations and plenty of examples.

Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper

Created and maintained by Duke University's Library.

A wonderful guide to citation which is arranged by type of citation, the information presented includes how to cite articles from journals, magazines, books, book reviews government documents, newspapers, primary sources, web pages and online postings.

Each section presents an example of a citation in the following formats: APA, Chicago Style, MLA and Turabian.

CITATION STYLE FOR RESEARCH PAPERS

Or check out this site created by Robert Delaney at the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library.

Mr. Delaney has created brief guides to several style manuals including:

• APA
• Turabian
• MLA
• Chicago
• and AMA
• He also includes a general guide to citing internet resources.

For additional links to citation resources see the Citing Your Government Documents Page.

Getting Help

You can stop by the Jerome Library Research and Information Desk. This service desk is open most of the hours that the library is open. See Library Hours for an exact listing, including holidays and intersessions.

If you have a brief question that can be answered over the phone, call the Research and Information Desk at 372-2362.

For online assistance: Ask-A-Librarian

If you feel you need in depth assistance, you can call Mrs. Parmer at 372-7826 or email her parmer@bgnet.bgsu.edu and schedule an appointment.

You are also welcome to visit the Documents Department Office (Room 140) Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and talk to the Documents staff.