Spirit and Intent
Understanding Aboriginal Treaties

Resources for Aboriginal Research

The following links represent various collections of materials pertaining to Aboriginal peoples held by Library and Archives Canada.

Aboriginal Documentary Heritage: Historical Collections of the Canadian Government presents three thematic sections with essays and selected documents about the Red and Black Series (the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs' administrative records of Aboriginal people from 1872 to the 1950s), Treaties, Surrenders and Agreements, and Aboriginal Soldiers in the First World War. This phase of the project features searchable databases of digitized records from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (RG 10) fonds and the soldiers of the First World War. It includes records for the majority of the Red Series, and the entire 524 records that form the Treaties, Surrenders and Agreements in the collection of Library and Archives Canada. The remaining documents in the Red Series and the Black Series will be available to the public as soon as these records are added to the database.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
aboriginal-heritage/index-e.html

Aboriginal Peoples  -   -  Bands and Agencies provides information about the relationship between Indian bands and the local field offices that administered them. Unlike the other databases included in ArchiviaNet, which provide descriptions of records, this database is a tool to assist users of RG 10 in identifying Indian Affairs offices that created records relevant to their research.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
archivianet/0201200116_e.html

Aboriginal Peoples  -   -  Guide to the Records of the Government of Canada provides an overview of Aboriginal history in Canada. It also explains the organization of the documents related to Aboriginal history held by Library and Archives Canada.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
archivianet/0201200109_e.html

Aboriginal Resources and Services portal provides access to a variety of Aboriginal resources within Canada. These include both Library and Archives Canada's collections and services, and those of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, associations, language and cultural centres, as well as those of several universities and libraries.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
aboriginal/index-e.html

Aboriginal Sound Recordings: Music and Song features music and song recordings from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis artists and the recording labels that produced their work. The recordings come from Library and Archives Canada's Music Collection and represent a wide range of music and styles from the 1970s to the present. Essays are also available about the background, as well as the change and adaptation, of the Aboriginal music scene in Canada.
[note: this web exhibition is scheduled to be launched in September 2007. The URL will be:
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/aboriginal-music-song (Coming soon)]

Genealogy and Family History: Aboriginal Peoples provides links to several databases, including the Department of Indian Affairs (RG 10), parish registers, military records and Western Land Grants, Census records, as well as access to published sources found in Amicus, a free catalogue of holdings held by libraries across Canada.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
genealogy/022-905.003-e.html

Framing Canada: A Photographic Memory features a photographic database with hundreds of images of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
framingcanada/026020-1000-e.html

From Colony to Country: A Reader's Guide to Canadian Military History
provides an extensive bibliography of published literature about Canada's military heritage from the 17th to the 20th centuries. It covers the War of 1812, Rebellions of 1837 and 1838, North West Campaign, South African War (Boer War), First World War and Second World War. Several sections of the site include references that pertain to the military roles and contributions of Aboriginal people.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
military/index-e.html

Indian Affairs Annual Reports 1864-1990 features a database of the annual reports and other reports of the Indian Affairs portfolio.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
indianaffairs/index-e.html

Indian Reserves  -   -  Western Canada database provides item-level descriptions of approximately 1,500 maps and plans that relate to Aboriginal reserves and settlements in western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
archivianet/indian-reserves/index-e.html

The Jesuit Relations and the History of New France offers a collection of texts and transcripts of the Jesuit Relations, an important primary source of information on the history of 17th-century New France.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
jesuit-relations/index-e.html

Louis Riel, the Red River Rebellion and the North West Campaign consists of archival references and other sources of information related to Louis Riel, the Red River Rebellion of 1870 and the North West Campaign of 1885.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
archivianet/005-1142.12-e.html

Métis Scrip Records is a research tool that allows users to search for the affidavits and applications related to the administration of the scrip issued by the Government of Canada. The scrip was issued to Métis residents of Manitoba and the former North-West Territories (present-day Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories).
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
archivianet/02010507_e.html

Naskapi Lexicon is a trilingual dictionary providing terms in Naskapi, English and French.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
naskapi/index-e.html

Orders-in-Council provides access to historical records of the Privy Council (RG 2) from July 1, 1867 to 1910. This database includes extensive records pertaining to the disposition of Aboriginal lands that are searchable using the keyword function. Regular updates will extend the temporal range of these records through to the mid-20th century.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
archivianet/020157_e.html

Project Naming is a photographic reclamation project that brings Inuit youth and Elders together and links Canada's northern communities with images of their past found in the South. The site is available in Inuktitut, English and French.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/inuit/index-e.html

Genealogy and Family History: Researching Your Aboriginal Ancestry at Library and Archives Canada is a useful guide to assist with research related to Aboriginal Ancestry. This resouce is available in HTML and PDF formats.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
genealogy/022-607.002-e.html

Treaty 8: 1899-1999 provides information on the significant treaty, first negotiated in late June 1899, that covered an area in northwestern Canada, known as Athabasca. Treaty 8 was not only the largest land settlement undertaken by the Canadian government with First Nations, but also the first to recognize that the "aboriginal title" of Indians and Métis are co-existent.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
treaty8/index-e.html

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