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Indigenous Rights

Lorisia MacLeod (James Smith Cree Nation) in partnership with staff of the NorQuest Indigenous Student Centre crafted citation templates for unrecorded oral teachings to use in APA and MLA styles. See MacLeod's article "More Than Personal Communication: Templates for Citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers" which provides the templates for APA and MLA and an explanation of each the elements in the templates.

  • The templates recognize the richness of oral teaching and does not relegate them to personal communications which is the category often used in citation styles.

  • The templates provide a "more culturally appropriate manner" to reference oral Indigenous knowledge.

 

APA 7th ed.                          
Citing Traditional Knowledge & Oral Traditions of Indigenous Peoples
Formula: Last name, First names initials. (Elder), Nation/Community. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. personal communication. Year, Month, Date. Territory Acknowledgement of where information was shared/collected. 
Reference List: Lekeyten. (Elder), Kwantlen First Nation. Community justice. personal communication. 2019, April, 4. Shared on the traditional unceded territory of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt and Kwikwetlem Peoples.   
In-Text Citation: (Lekeyten, 2019)
MLA 9th ed.                    
The formal MLA Style does not have a format for Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, so these guidelines have been adapted from NorQuest College (CC BY-NC 4.0) and developed in consultation with Lorisia MacLeod (James Smith Cree Nation, MLIS). https://doi.org/10.18357/kula.135
Formula:                     Last name, First names initials. (Elder), Nation/Community. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. personal communication. Year, Month, Date. Territory Acknowledgement of where information was shared/collected. 
Works Cited:         Lekeyten. (Elder), Kwantlen First Nation. Community justice. personal communication. 2019, April, 4. Shared on the traditional unceded territory of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt and Kwikwetlem Peoples.   
In-Text Citation:                                         (Lekeyten, 2019)
Chicago 18th ed.                                        
The formal Chicago Style does not have a format for Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, so these guidelines have been adapted from NorQuest College (CC BY-NC 4.0) and developed in consultation with Lorisia MacLeod (James Smith Cree Nation, MLIS). https://doi.org/10.18357/kula.135
Formula: Last Name, First Names, Nation/Community, Treaty territory if applicable, City/Community they live in if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. Personal communication. Month Date, Year.
Bibliography: Cardinal, Delores, Goodfish Lake Cree Nation, Treaty 6, lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. Personal communication. April 4, 2004.
Footnote: Delores Cardinal, Goodfish Lake Cree Nation, Treaty 6, lives in Edmonton, Oral teaching, Personal communication, April 4, 2004.

Additional Details:

  • Unlike other personal communications, Elders and Knowledge Keepers should be cited in-text and in the bibliography or works cited list.
  • If you would like to approach an Elder or Knowledge Keeper for teachings, remember to follow protocol or if you are unsure what their protocol is, please ask them ahead of time! Alternatively, respectfully ask someone from that nation or from a local Indigenous organization, or check the nation’s website to see if this information is available.
  • Cite Indigenous titles exactly as they appear on the resource.
  • Cite Indigenous names exactly as they appear on the resource.

Regarding 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]. 

Regarding 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.

Keep in Mind!

  • How this information is cited is dependent on if and how the information was recorded. 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.