Indigenous & First Nations Studies: Citation

Citation is giving credit to the original creator of something. We need to use citation every time we reuse another person's work in our own work. Any time you use an idea, quote, image, song, art, video, etc. - anything that you did not come up with yourself - it requires a citation. APA and MLA are two common citation styles you may use at VCC - however, just because they are commonly used does not mean that other ways are less valid!

When the information you are using originates from within Indigenous communities, please make sure you have followed the appropriate protocols and have the necessary permissions to use that information.

Please also be aware that "ownership" of Indigenous knowledge does not necessarily follow the colonial concept of ownership. Just because someone has cited or used certain Indigenous knowledge in the past does automatically make it permissible to use - Indigenous knowledge has frequently been taken, appropriated, and used without permission throughout many types of sources.
 

Our friends at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) have put together a great explanation of how to cite elders. They collaborated with other institutions and their own Elder in Residence. Please follow this link to see how to cite elders in APA, MLA or Chicago style.