Public Health

Library of the Health Sciences

Citing Indigenous Elders & Knowledge Keepers

Western academic traditions do not offer a way to formally acknowledge the contributions and knowledge of Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers in academic publications.

To bridge this gap, you can use the citation templates created by Lorisa MacLeod (James Smith Cree Nation) in partnership with the staff of the NorQuest Indigenous Student Center

The Templates:

APA:

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.

For example:

Cardinal, D. Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. personal communi-cation. April 4, 2004.

MLA:

Last name, First name. Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. City/Community they live in if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. Date Month Year.

For example:

Cardinal, Delores. Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. 4 April 2004.

 

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