Reference Materials
If a subject is new to you, or if you would like an overview of a topic, basic factual information, or sources for further reading, you may want to consult reference materials. The sources listed below are located in the reference collection (main floor, middle of building, north), the Bizzell Library stacks, Government Documents Collection, or online via the library's website (click on title to access).
General Reference Works
Columbia Gazetteer of the WorldCall Number: OnlineIn-depth information on geographic places, including political characteristics and physical features. Includes information on special locations, such as historic and archeological sites, resorts, airports, ports, dams, nuclear plants, mines, canals, shopping malls, theme parks, military bases, and mythic places. Columbia Gazetteer will be canceled, effective January 1, 2020.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)Call Number: PE 1625 .O87 1989 (ref) and ONLINEIncludes definitions, etymologies, and quotations.
Native Americans
Print copies are in the reference collection, the stacks of Bizzell Library, or in the Government Documents Collection. To access the online resources, click on the title. In most cases, descriptions are based on the publisher's summary of the resource.
American Indian Art SeriesCall Number: OnlinePublication Date: varies, 1998-2006Six volumes of artist biographies for Hopi-Tewa Pottery, Pueblo Indian Pottery, American Indian Textiles, Southern Pueblo Pottery, American Indian Jewelry, and American Indian Baskets.
American Indian Religious Traditions: An EncyclopediaCall Number: E 98 .R3 C755 2005 (ref) and OnlineTopics covered include key ideas and issues, religious and political leaders, primary ceremonies, mythic figures, and related cultural subjects, such as basketry, whaling, farming, and bison hunting, which have religious significance for Native peoples. Contributors include noted scholars of American Indian religious culture, including many who come from tribal traditions and can offer valuable insights and observations from their personal experience.
Biographical Dictionary of American Indian History to 1900Call Number: E 89 .W35 2001 (ref)Short entries covering the time of early contact to 1900. Includes famous figures as well as lesser known individuals. Also includes non-Indians with connections to the Native American Story.- Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the AmericasCall Number: OnlinePublication Date: 1996(Click on volume 1 or 2 to access.) Comprehensive history of the native peoples of North America from their arrival in the western hemisphere to the present.
Cherokee EncyclopediaCall Number: E 99 .C5 C694 2007 (ref)A quick reference guide for many of the people, places, and things connected to the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees, as well as for the other officially recognized Cherokee groups, the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokees.
Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the WorldCall Number: E 54.5 .K46 2002 (ref)More than 450 entries about inventions of the indigenous peoples of North, Central, and South America.
Encyclopedia of American Indian RemovalCall Number: E 98 .R4 E63 2011 (ref) and onlineVolume One contains essays on subjects and people that are general in scope and arranged alphabetically by subject; Volume Two is dedicated to primary documents regarding Indian removal and examines specific information about political debates, Indian responses to removal policy, and removals of individual tribes.
Encyclopedia of Native American Economic HistoryCall Number: E 98 .E2 E52 1999 (ref)Contains nearly 200 articles on a wide range of topics.
Encyclopedia of Native American HealingCall Number: E 98 .M4 L96 1998 (ref) and onlineCovers 350 years of history in more than 1200 entries. Describes sacred objects, plants, healing ceremonies, etc.
Encyclopedia of Native American HistoryCall Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2011The new, three-volume Encyclopedia of Native American History offers a comprehensive and authoritative look at the most important individuals, events, and topics in American Indian history. Researchers and students alike will benefit from the in-depth coverage of tribes, notable leaders and events, customs, dress, dwellings, weapons, government, religion, and more. Covering the period from the first human settlements in the Americas to the present day, this set features black-and-white photographs, an insert of full-color maps, an appendix, and cross-references.
Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and WarfareCall Number: E 81 .E98 2005 (ref)More than 600 extensively cross-referenced entries detail, wars and battles, treaties, tribes, individuals and places, weaponry, important concepts.
Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North AmericaCall Number: E 76.2 .J64 2007 (ref)Arranged by cultural and geographical area. Contains brief entries on tribes, confederacies, and other groups. Heavily illustrated with maps, drawings, and photographs.
Encyclopedia of North American IndiansCall Number: E 76.2 .E535 1996 (ref) and onlineIncludes descriptions of one hundred tribes, one hundred biographies, one hundred interpretive entries that present brief overviews of significant topics, historical eras, and cultural traditions, and a final category of entries providing definitions for terms and events that are frequently mentioned and often misunderstood. Nearly half the tribal entries were prepared by tribal members.
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and CultureCall Number: F 694 .E63 2009 (ref) and onlineContains articles written by leading scholars in the field and is published by the Oklahoma Historical Society. The online edition is presented by the Oklahoma State University Library Electronic Publishing Center.
Encyclopedia of the Great Plains IndiansCall Number: E 78 .G73 E53 2007Includes 123 entries drawn from Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, together with 23 new entries focusing on contemporary Plains Indians.
Encyclopedia of United States Indian Policy and LawCall Number: KF 8205 .E49 2009 (3rd floor, west) and OnlineIn nearly 700 entries, more than 200 culturally diverse scholars from a wide range of disciplines shed light on the topics critical to a better understanding of U.S.-Indian relations.
Gale Encyclopedia of Native American TribesCall Number: E 77 .G35 1998 (ref)Four volume source presents historical, cultural, and current information on nearly 400 Native groups within 13 geographic regions.
Handbook of Middle American IndiansCall Number: F 1434 .H3 (ref) and F 1434 .H3 suppl. (ref)Publication Date: 1964 & 1981Essays on the ethnography, linguistics, archaeology, physical anthropology and social anthropology of Mesoamerican native cultures. Updated with supplements.
Handbook of Native American MythologyCall Number: E 98 .R3 B26 2004 (ref) and onlineIn thematic chapters and encyclopedia-style entries, examines the characters and deities, rituals, sacred locations and objects, concepts, and stories that define and distinguish mythological cultures of various indigenous peoples.- Handbook of North American IndiansCall Number: E 77 .H25 (ref)Publication Date: 1978-An encyclopedia summarizing knowledge about all Native peoples north of Mesoamerica, including cultures, languages, history, prehistory, and human biology. A standard reference work for anthropologists, historians, students, and the general reader. Leading authorities have contributed chapters to each volume. Area volumes include separate chapters on all tribes.
- Handbook of South American Indians (BAE v. 143)Call Number: SI 2.3: 143 (Gov Docs) and onlinePublication Date: 1946-1959Note, online link goes to v. 1. Search database for remaining volumes. Summary of all aspects of South American anthropology, including archaeology, with good illustrations and bibliography. Sections now out of date.
Handbook/Dictionary of Native American LiteratureCall Number: PM 155 .D53 1996 (ref) and onlineOnline version titled Dictionary of Native American Literature
Includes more than 70 essays. Content arranged by subject and period, beginning with Native American oral literature to writings in the early 1990s.
Native America a State-by-state Historical EncyclopediaCall Number: OnlineEssays provide a fresh perspective on Native American history by focusing on how Indians lived and helped shape each of the United States.
Native American Literatures: An Encyclopedia of Works, Characters, Authors, and ThemesCall Number: PS 153 .I52 W47 1999 (ref) and onlineFeatures four types of articles: works, key fictional characters, authors, and terms or events.
Native American Women: A Biographical DictionaryCall Number: E 98 .W8 B38 2001 (ref)Entries on more than 270 Native American women in a variety of disciplines, including law, medicine, art, and education.
Native Americans: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and PeoplesCall Number: E 77 .P89 1998 (ref) and onlineOrganized geographically. Basic information about tribes: articles include sections on location, population, language, history, religion, government, customs, dwellings, diet, key technology, trade, notable arts, transportation, dress, and war/ weapons.
North American Indian Thought and CultureCall Number: OnlineIncluded are biographies, auto-biographies, personal narratives, speeches, diaries, letters, and oral histories. The database represents the largest compilation ever created of biographical information on indigenous peoples from all areas of North America.
Treaties with American Indians: An Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and SovereigntyCall Number: KF 8203.6 .T74 2008 (ref) and Onlinefirst comprehensive introduction to the treaties that promised land, self-government, financial assistance, and cultural protections to many of the over 500 tribes of North America (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada). Going well beyond describing terms and conditions, it is the only reference to explore the historical, political, legal, and geographical contexts in which each treaty took shape.