Post by Diane Merkel on Feb 1, 2019 15:55:24 GMT -5
The current issue of Genealogy Gems: News from the Allen County Public Library at Fort Wayne [Indiana], No. 179, January 31, 2019, features an article that may be of interest to this group.
Diane
Library Catalog Insider--How to Best Search for Native American Records
by Kasia Young
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February is the month for love, and there is nothing more that the catalogers love then authorized subject headings.
We do have a treat for you this month! We will show you how to best search for Native American records in The Genealogy Center’s catalog (www.genealogycenter.org/).
But first things first … The official Library of Congress subject heading for Native Americans is Indians of North America. By using this search term in the catalog, you will get a broad picture of our collection.
For example: “Indians of North America” search yields 3026 results, and includes materials relating to general histories, memoirs, social life and customs, religion, etc.
By attaching a geographic location heading (*GLH) to “Indians of North America” subject heading, you can start researching your Native American ancestors in specific locations.
For example: “Indians of North America + Indiana” yields 55 results and “Indians of North America + Indiana + Allen County” narrows down the search to 2 results.
In order to search for materials on government relations with Native Americans, simply add the term “government relations” to “Indians of North America” subject heading. This search term applies to materials relating to treaties, reservations, relocation (Trail of Death, Trail of Tears, etc.), and United States Indian Bureau (Bureau of Indian Affairs).
For example: “Indians of North America + Government relations” yields 217 results.
You can further narrow down your search by adding a *GLH.
For example: “Indians of North America + Indiana + Government relations” which yields 3 results.
There are specific subject headings that are used to catalog materials relating to relations between Indians of North America and other groups:
“African Americans + Relations with Indians” (69 results)
“Blacks + Relations with Indians” (32 results)
“Whites + Relations with Indians” (41 results)
*GLH stands for geographic location heading (see Genealogy Gems No. 168, February 28, 2018).
Bonus tips for February 2019:
“Indian captivities” subject heading is used to catalog materials that include captivity narratives (stories of people captured by Native Americans). This search term yields 100 results in our catalog.
“Ex-slaves of Indian tribes” subject heading is used for materials relating to former slaves of Indian tribes. This search yields 10 results in our catalog.
Next month we will focus on subject headings for specific tribes. Stay tuned!
Diane
