Native Peoples Collection

Print and audiovisual materials, including language-learning kits, by and about the Native Peoples of North America with special emphasis on Canadian Native People.

Collections at 3 locations:

Spadina Road Library

North York Central Library

Toronto Reference Library, Languages Centre, Languages of the Americas Collection

Details about the collection at North York Central Library

Located on the 3rd floor in the Society and Recreation Department, the collection illustrates the contributions and concerns of people of North American or Inuit ancestry, including Metis and non-status Natives.

The focus of the Native Peoples' Collection is contemporary issues, though some historical material is available as well.

You'll find materials on:

• Art and artists
• History and heritage
• Medicine
• Myths and legends
• Native leaders
• Native writers and their works
• Political and social issues such as land claims, treaty rights, population, residential schools and statistics
• Religion and spirituality

Highlights of the Collection:

The Native Peoples' Information File

• Brochures and clippings on topics from the Inuit to the Yukon Indians
• Brochures and clippings on current issues such as racism, self-government and Native business

Federal and Provincial Government Publications, including:

• Reports of Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry
• Akwesasne to Wummumin Lake - Profiles of Aboriginal Communities in Ontario (1992)
• Selected U.S. and international government publications
• Canadian census material on aboriginal people

Newspapers, Magazines, Newsletters, Both Popular and Academic, including:

• Aboriginal Voices
• Canadian Journal of Native Studies
• Native Studies Review
• Windspeaker

Cassettes, CDs and Videos

• A small collection of audio cassettes and CDs on music, legends and poetry reading.
• A large selection of videos on history, culture and native issues

Unique Materials

• Works by and about Native Peoples in the children's department of the North York Central Library
• Historical and scholarly materials, including rare and/or fragile items, for reference use in the Canadiana Department on the sixth floor

The collection