Anthropology 231: Native Peoples and Cultures of Arctic North America

Anthropology 231
Native Peoples and Cultures of Arctic America

Study Guide

Professor: Anne Henshaw
Librarian: Leanne Pander
Fall 2005

The Online Catalog
Encyclopedias
Indexing and Abstracting Services
Wonderful World Wide Web Sites
Selected Periodical Sources

Guidelines for Anthropology 231 Research Paper [MS Word]

Society for American Archaeology Style Guide
   http://www.saa.org/publications/StyleGuide/styFrame.html
   Open the pdf version and page down to sections on "In-Text Reference Citations"
   and "References Cited."

The Online Catalog (OPAC)

The Library Catalog section of the Library Web Gateway is the primary instrument for accessing the collections of the Bowdoin College Libraries. Included are bibliographic records for books, periodical titles, videorecordings, Archives materials, sound recordings, Special Collections materials, and a portion of the government documents collection.

In the Library Catalog, you may search for an item by its Author (including editors, illustrators, translators, and corporate authors); Title (including series titles and alternate titles); or one of several other access points, such as call number or words in title. For best results in Subject searching, use the standardized subject headings found in the large red Library of Congress Subject Headings books. Some examples of subject headings relevant for Anthropology 231 are:

ESKIMOS
YUPIK ESKIMOS
INUIT
ALEUTS
NUNAMIUT
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
HUMAN ECOLOGY
SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

These can be helpful to establish background and an overview of a topic.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY. David Levinson and Melvin Ember, Editors.
New York, Henry Hold and Company, 1996 4 vols.
Ref. GN307 E52 1996: Sponsored by Human Relations Area Files at Yale University, this encyclopedia attempts to cover "all approaches, methods, concepts, and topics that are central to cultural anthropology in the last decade of the twentieth century as well as many subjects no longer of current interest But central to the anthropological enterprise in the past." It also covers selected information from the other three fields of anthropology: Linguistics, Biological Anthropology, and Archaeology.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE ARCTIC. Mark Nuttall, editor. New York : Routledge, 2005, 3 vols.
Ref. G606 .E49 2005: "Detailed essays on the Arctic's environment, wildlife, climate, history, exploration, resources, economics, politics, indigenous cultures and languages, conservation initiatives, etc, this is the only major work and comprehensive reference."
HANDBOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. William C. Sturtevant, Editor.
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1978+
12 volumes; in progress.
Govt SI 1.20/2: An impressive production, planned to be complete in 20 volumes, which give "an encyclopedic summary of what is known about the prehistory, history, and cultures of the aboriginal peoples of North America who lived to the north of the urban civilizations of central Mexico." Each volume comprises essays by specialists on specific aspects of Indian life, with extensive bibliography and detailed index. The volumes published thus far cover the following: v.4, History of Indian-White Relations; v.5, Arctic; v.6, Subarctic; v.7, Northwest Coast; v.8, California; v.9-10, Southwest; v.11, Great Basin; v.12, Plateau; v.13, Plains; v.15, Northeast; v.17, Language.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. Bruce E. Johansen. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2003
Ref. GF50 .J65 2003: "This encyclopedia describes the intrusion of foreign (usually destructive) elements into the environments (cultures, lifeways, and economies) of indigenous peoples around the Earth." Includes an introductory essay on Persistent Organic Pollutants and global warming in the Arctic; also sections on native peoples in Canada and the United States.

INDEXING AND ABSTRACTING SERVICES

These sources, produced annually or more frequently, provide subject and author access to articles in periodicals and other current publications. They differ from one another in the selection of journals covered, and in the way they present their information; some are in print form, and others are electronic databases. Although some duplication will be found among the various indexing and abstracting services, it is worthwhile to try several for a thorough literature search on any topic.

ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER: This versatile database covers over 2,000 English-language periodicals in social sciences, humanities, and science, as well as general interest magazines. Years covered vary for different periodicals, but generally go from mid-1980's to the present. Includes full-text of many articles.

ANTHROPOLOGY PLUS
Late 19th Century - Present: A combination of the Anthropology Index and Anthropological Literature databases. Provides extensive worldwide indexing of journal articles, reports, commentaries, and edited works in the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, and interdisciplinary studies.

ANTHROSOURCE
Dates Vary: Contains the full text of more than 30 journals, including: a complete electronic archive of all AAA journals through 2003, access to archival content housed at JSTOR for key AAA publications including American Anthropologist, and current issues for 11 of the AAA's most critical peer-reviewed publications.

ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC REGIONS: This database contains more than 826,000 citations and abstracts to research studies from around the world, in many languages. It consolidates the references found in eleven major bibliographic resources on Arctic and Antarctic studies. Coverage ranges from 1800 to the present. Topics include all aspects of the life, social, physical, engineering, and earth sciences in the earth's coldest regions. "AAR is your one-stop polar source."

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NATIVE NORTH AMERICANS: Contains citations to literature about native peoples of North America published from the sixteenth century to the present. Native North Americans include Aleuts; Eskimos or Inuits of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska and eastern Siberia; and other native peoples of Alaska, Canada, the United States, and Mexico north of the northern boundary of Mesoamerica. All citations are to published materials: books, journal articles, essays, conference papers, and U.S. government documents.

ETHNIC NEWSWATCH
1990+: News, culture, and history from over 200 publications of the Ethnic, Minority, and Native Press. An excellent source for alternative viewpoints. Full text of articles may be displayed in English or Spanish.

FIRST NATIONS PERIODICAL INDEX
Varies by title - Present: References to numerous journals, newpapers, and magazines on topics surrounding Canadian Natives.

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES INDEX RETROSPECTIVE
1907-1984: Indexes a wide range of interdisciplinary fields covered in a broad array of humanities and social sciences journals. Includes many anthropology sources.

WONDERFUL WORLD WIDE WEB SITES

Not all websites are created equal! The Web is an electronic repository for books, data collections, encyclopedias, libraries, and any disparate piece of text, graphic, or sound byte that someone chose to put on-line. And some of it is inaccurate, biased, out-of-date, shallow, and inappropriate for academic use. For help in appraising web sources, see Evaluating WWW Sources, http://www.cbbnet.org/teaching/evaluation.html.

Aboriginal Canada Portal
http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/acp/site.nsf/en-frames/index.html: A gateway site with many headings including: Language, Heritage and Culture; and Claims and Treaties.

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Resource Center
http://www.lbblawyers.com/ancsa.htm: Links to reference materials relating to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ("ANCSA").

Alaska Native Knowledge Network
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu: Excellent resource for educational and traditional knowledge projects in Alaska.

Arctic Circle
http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/: The overall goal of Arctic Circle is to stimulate among viewers a greater interest in the peoples and environment of the Arctic and Subarctic region through three interrelated themes: natural resources; history and culture; social equity and environmental justice.

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
http://www.acia.uaf.edu/: An international project of the Arctic Council and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), to evaluate and synthesize knowledge on climate variability, climate change, and increased ultraviolet radiation and their consequences.

Avataq Cultural Institute
http://www.avataq.qc.ca: Cultural institute representing indigenous groups in Nunavik, Quebec.

Canadian Arctic Resources Committee
http://www.carc.org/: Excellent site for Arctic renewable resource management and traditional ecological knowledge.

Government of Nunavut
http://www.gov.nu.ca/Nunavut/: Home page of the Nunavut Territory, including governmental bodies, history, economy, etc.

Indigenous Environmental Network
http://www.ienearth.org/: The Indigenous Environmental Network is "an alliance of grassroots indigenous peoples whose mission is to protect the sacredness of Mother Earth from contamination and exploitation by strengthening maintaining and respecting the traditional teachings and the natural laws."

Inuit Circumpolar Conference
http://www.inuit.org/: Excellent resources for contemporary issues facing indigenous peoples in the circumpolar world.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
http://www.itk.ca/: A non-profit organization dedicated to the needs and aspirations of Canada's Inuit. Excellent resources for Inuit land claims in Canada and contaminant issues.

Native Americans and the Environment Web Site
http://www.cnie.org/NAE/: This is a non-profit project: "1) to promote education and research on environmental problems facing Native American communities; 2) to explore the values and historical experiences that Native Americans bring to bear on environmental issues; and 3) to promote conservation measures that respect Native American land and resource rights."

Nunatsiaq News
http://www.nunatsiaq.com/: Weekly newspaper from Iqaluit, Nunavut. Covers current issues in eastern Canadian Arctic.

SELECTED PERIODICAL SOURCES IN THE BOWDOIN LIBRARY

AnthroSource (see above) includes more than 30 full-text Anthropology journals. The Bowdoin Library also subscribes to thousands of additional journals in Anthropology, Environmental Studies, History, and all disciplines. Use the JOURNAL tab on the Library Gateway to search for specific titles, or browse for titles in ANTHROPOLOGY.

Listed below are a few of the specific journal titles that will be useful for this class. Remember to use INDEXES/DATABASES for comprehensive access to a wider variety of journals.

American Anthropologist
Arctic
Arctic and Alpine Research
Arctic Anthropology
Current Anthropology
Ethnohistory
Folk
Human Ecology
Inuit Studies/Etudes Inuit
Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

This page created and maintained by Leanne Pander. Last update: September 19, 2005.