Skip to Main Content

Indian Residential School System in Canada

Selected Resources

Finding Materials in the UBC Catalogue

Try these basic strategies to begin your research in the UBC Library Catalogue.

Keyword Searches

Try the following keywords:

  • "Residential schools"
  • "Boarding schools"
  • "Industrial schools"

Or search the name of a specific school, such as Coqualeetza. For names of schools see the List of Residential Schools in Canada.

Helpful Hints for Keyword Searches

  • Use quotation marks to search for a phrase.
    Example: "First Nations"
  • Use a question mark to truncate a term to search for words with the same stem.
    Example: School? retrieves School, Schools, Schooling, etc.

Try these basic strategies to begin your research in the UBC Library Catalogue.

Subject Headings

Subject headings are a tool designed to help researchers find similar materials. These are only some examples of the many subject headings that X̱wi7x̱wa Library uses. Spend a few minutes exploring them when you find a book in the catalogue that supports your research.

Browse Catalogue > Subject begins with:

Browse Catalogue > Subject contains:

Try these basic strategies to begin your research in the UBC Library Catalogue.

Browse Call Numbers

X̱wi7x̱wa Library uses a unique Classification Scheme. See call numbers beginning with ER for materials on residential schools. Come by X̱wi7x̱wa to browse the shelves or search our online catalogue:

Bibliographies - Adult Materials

Children's Materials at X̱wi7x̱wa Library

For a currated bibliography of children's materials on the topic of residential schools found at X̱wi7x̱wa Library, see the Children's Resources on the Indian Residential School System page in the Indigenous Children's Literature research guide. 

Xwi7xwa has a Critical Indigenous Literacy kit for Residential Schools that can be found here; we recommend checking out our Critical Literacy info tab for context and additional resources when teaching children. 

Bibliographies - Children's Materials

These bibliographies offer curated lists of materials which address the reality of the Indian Residential Schools. Many include additional resources for teaching or encouraging discussion at home.