Native American Studies Research Guide

Central Wyoming College Library houses a wide variety of American Indian Studies materials from disciplines that—among other subjects—include history, legislature, literature, sociology, and cultural materials. Our content includes physical and internet resources to enhance music, fine art and geographic knowledge.

In addition to book and movie references, our collection encompasses many database resources and several current periodical subscriptions, all of which are representative of CWC’s extensive supply of American Indian resource materials.

Before you start your search, try to compile a list of potential keywords. This is always a good idea, but it is especially useful for conducting searches in a new and interdisciplinary field, such as Native American Studies. A good first place to start is to identify possible culture group names for your search.

• Use common keywords such as Native American, Amerindian, Indian, First Peoples or Indigenous
• Search by particular tribe or cultural group name  (e.g. Arapaho or Shoshone)
• Combine tribal names with a topical word (e.g. Sioux mythology)
• Browse the subject Indians of North America in the library catalog.
• To limit your search to a specific tribe, replace the phrase "Indians of North America" with the tribe or group's name.
• If you are looking for a specific event or ceremony, use the name of that event. For example, you can search for Native American Church under subject.
• For best results, try an advanced keyword search using the terms Religion or Mythology or Ceremony (as appropriate) combined with any or all of your identified keywords.
• Putting your search term within quotes (e.g. "Native American") may produce more relevant content.