Citing Indigenous Sources and Traditional Knowledge and Knowledge Keepers
Citing Indigenous Sources
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (the Publication Manual) provides a small amount of information on citing Traditional Knowledge and Oral Traditions of Indigenous Peoples (8.9). As a part of the journey of truth and reconciliation, many groups and institutions have developed templates for citing Indigenous sources and knowledge respectfully and appropriately. The authors of this text offer their sincere gratitude to the following people and organizations for sharing their knowledge and learning tools:
- Jennifer Tewathahá:kwa Maracle, Director, Tsi Titewaya’taro:rόks Indigenous Centre at Loyalist College, and the team in the Tsi Titewaya’taro:rόks Indigenous Centre for their guidance and support
- The team at the University of British Columbia Library for sharing their recommended practices
- The team at the NorQuest College Library for sharing their recommended practices and templates, and for releasing their work under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license so that it can be shared by others.
Indigenous Authors
If an author lists an Indigenous name only, list the name as it appears. It is important to remember that although names may have more than one part, both parts may make up a first name, and there may be no surname.
If an author lists an Indigenous name followed by an English name, list the Indigenous name as it appears, followed by the English name in square brackets, with the surname appearing first, followed by the first initial(s), e.g.: Hetxw’ms Gyetxw [Hudson, B.D.].
If an author lists an English name followed by an Indigenous name, list the English name with the surname appearing first, followed by the first initial(s), and the Indigenous name as it appears in square brackets, e.g.: Hudson, B.D. [Hetxw’ms Gyetxw].
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Cite Indigenous names exactly as they appear on the resource.
Indigenous Titles
List the title as it appears. If a title appears in two languages, list the languages in the order they appear on the resource, separated by a colon. If the title appears in an alphabet not available in a word processing program, it may be omitted, e.g.: nīhithaw ācimowina: Woods Cree Stories.
Do not change punctuation or capitalization of Indigenous words; record words as they appear.
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Cite Indigenous titles exactly as they appear on the resource.
Citing Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Oral Traditions and Traditional Knowledge
Below are two recommended methods for citing Elders and Knowledge Keepers, as well as oral traditions and traditional knowledge. The two methods are similar but have some minor differences. Students should use the method required by their instructor or the assignment. If no instruction is provided, students may choose the method they prefer. The method must be applied consistently.
The first method is from the Publication Manual (8.9). The second method was shared by the University of British Columbia (UBC), adapted from work done by NorQuest College and released under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. We thank both UBC and NorQuest for sharing their work and knowledge.
Method 1: From The Publication Manual
According to the Publication Manual, the method of citing Oral Traditions and Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples varies depending on whether the information has been recorded, and if so, how (8.9):
- If the information has been recorded and is retrievable by readers, e.g., on video or audio, or printed in an interview transcript, book, or article, it is cited in the text and a reference list entry is created in the correct format for the resource type.
- If the information has not been recorded and is not retrievable by readers, e.g., in the case of an oral teaching, APA Style recommends creating an in-text citation with as much information as is necessary to describe the content and to contextualize the information. Because the information cannot be retrieved by the reader, no reference list entry is used.
- If information was provided directly by an Indigenous person, APA Style recommends using a variation of the personal communication citation. Provide the person’s full name, the specific Indigenous group or nation to which they belong, if that information is available, and the date of the communication, e.g.: “We spoke to Patricia Cardinal (Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario, personal communication, November 2019) about . . . “. Alternately, writers can use signal phrases to provide the information, e.g.: “We spoke to Patricia Cardinal, of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, about . . . “. It is very important to confirm that the person agrees to have their name included, and that they confirm the accuracy and appropriateness of the information being shared.
- For Indigenous writers who are sharing their personal experiences or the oral traditions and traditional knowledge of their people, APA Style recommends that the writer describe themselves in the text, e.g., their nation or where they live, to contextualize the information. This can be done using signal phrases. A personal communication citation and reference list entry are not required in this instance.
Method 2: From the University of British Columbia and NorQuest College
According to this method, Elders and Knowledge Keepers should be cited in-text and in the reference list in the following way:
In-Text Citations
The in-text citation should follow APA guidelines for formatting in-text citations for paraphrasing and direct quotations. Include the Elder or Knowledge Keeper’s last name and the year of communication, e.g.: “Patricia Cardinal described the nature of the . . . (2019)”, or “The nature of the place was described as. . . (Cardinal, 2019).
Reference List Entries
Last name, First initial., Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. Where they live if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. personal communication. Month Date, Year.
Example
Cardinal, D., Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Crawford Purchase. Lives in Tyendinaga. Oral teaching. personal communication. January 5, 2019.
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Remember! If you would like to approach an Elder or Knowledge Keeper for teachings, it is important to follow their protocol. If you’re unsure what their protocol is, please ask them ahead of time. Alternatively, respectfully ask someone from that nation or from a local organization such as a Friendship Center or a local Indigenous student centre, or check the nation’s website to see if this information is available.
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Citing Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions of Indigenous Peoples
How this information is cited is dependent on if and how the information was recorded. If it was recorded in a format that can be retrieved, e.g.: a book, a YouTube video, a podcast etc., cite it as you would that type or format of the source with an in-text citation and an entry in the reference list. For Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions that are not in a retrievable format, you must provide an in-text citation with as much detail as possible to outline the content and contextualize the origin of the information. You do not need to include a reference entry.
Consider the following:
Did you speak to an Indigenous person directly to learn information?
If they aren’t a research participant, then you can cite the person as you would a personal communication. Include in an in-text citation the person’s full name and the specific Indigenous group they belong to, the location, and additional details that are relevant to them, ending with the words “personal communication” and the date of the communication.
Parenthetical In-Text Citation
Format
(A.A. Smith, Indigenous group, location, additional details, personal communication, Month, Date, Year)
Example
The community’s experience was described as . . . (Patricia Cardinal, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Lives in Tyendinaga. Oral teaching. personal communication, January 5, 2019)
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Remember! In a parenthetical citation, the citation appears in parentheses, or brackets,
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Narrative In-Text Citation
Format
A.A. Smith (Indigenous group, location, additional details, personal communication, Month, Date, Year) . . .
Example
Patricia Cardinal (Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Lives in Tyendinaga. Oral teaching. personal communication, January 5, 2019) shared that . . .
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Remember! In a narrative citation, the author’s name is a part of the sentence itself, rather than appearing in parentheses.
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Did your information gathering occur over several dates?
If this is the case, you should include a general date or range of dates that reflect when you consulted with the person, e.g.: January 2019, or January 2 to January 5, 2019.
Are you including information from your own experience and/or community?
If you are an Indigenous person and are including information from your own experience, or sharing information about your people that has previously not been recorded, the Publication Manual states, “describe yourself in the text (e.g., what nation you belong to, where you live) to contextualize the origin of the information you are sharing.” (p.261). You do not need to include a personal communication citation or have a reference list entry.
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Sources
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).
Isbister, C. (2023). Indigenous Citation Guide. University of British Columbia Library. https://guides.library.ubc.ca/IndigenousCitationGuide
MacLeod, L. (2021). More than personal communication: Templates for citing Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers. KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies 5 (1). https://doi.org/10.18357/kula.135
NorQuest College Library. (2023). Citation guide – Indigenous education. Norquest College. https://libguides.norquest.ca/IndigenousEducation/cite
Citing is the process of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas. This takes the form of a citation. Citations must include specific pieces of information and must follow a consistent format. There are two parts of a citation – the in-text citation, and the reference list entry.
In an APA Style citation, the author is the person or people, or the group responsible for creating the work. An author can be a single person, multiple people, a group like an institution or a government agency, or a combination of individuals and groups.
In an APA Style in-text citation or reference list entry, the title refers to the name of the work being cited.
Books provide overviews, background, history and introductions as well as in-depth examinations of topics. It's common to wonder about the differences between books and eBooks, and which one is better. The only difference between books and eBooks is access and format; print books are physical items and eBooks are digital files that can be accessed from a variety of devices. The content and quality are the same.
Academic journals, sometimes called “peer reviewed” or “scholarly” journals are ideal for finding in-depth current research in a specific area. They publish academic or scholarly articles. These articles are written by experts in a field of study. They’re longer, written in an academic style, use professional terminology and language, and the topic of the article is narrowly focused and explored in-depth. They’re heavy on text and light on illustration, but may contain charts, graphs, and other statistical data. The content in the article is typically based on either original research or authorities in the field, instead of personal opinion. Sources are well cited in a particular format, like APA Style, and there are both in-text citations or foot- or endnotes, and a bibliography or works cited page. Often, journal issues will have a volume and issue number – like Volume 6 Issue 4. Journal covers are usually plain with an emphasis on the key research articles in a particular issue.
A reference list entry is the information in a reference list at the end of an assignment or essay. An APA Style reference list entry includes author(s), a date, a title, and a source.
APA Style is set of guidelines created by the American Psychological Association (the APA). These guidelines help writers, including students, to format written work and citations in a consistent way.
In-text citations appear in the body of a paper or other assignment. They briefly identify a work by author and date of publication. In-text citations also help the reader to find the full reference list entry in the reference list at the end of the paper. In-text citations must have corresponding reference list entries. In-text citations can be narrative or parenthetical.
Paraphrasing means putting information from the source material into your own words. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage. Remember that paraphrasing requires an in-text citation and reference list entry.
To quote means to copy “word for word” from a resource, including original spelling and punctuation. Direct quotations appear in quotation marks and end with an in-text citation.
