Referencing Traditional and Indigenous knowledge

This page is specifically about referencing sources of Traditional an Indigenous knowledge. For other aspects of Traditional and Indigenous knowledge (and libraries) see the page Traditional Knowledge 

Traditional knowledge and referencing styles

Specific referencing styles may provide guidance as to how traditional knowledge (TK) should be referenced. For instance, in APA, the basic premise is that traditional knowledge needs to be treated with respect and students should use their critical thinking skills to frame several questions, such as: 

• Evaluating sources. Sources may exist for specific TK and evaluating sources is relevant. For instance, is bias apparent in older sources?  
• Permission from owners of knowledge. Does the student have permission from Indigenous Peoples to share their knowledge?
• Summarise oral information in the text. Where there are no recorded sources (so not verifiable by readers of a text, such as examiners), can the student provide as much relevant information as possible in a concise manner?
• Personal communication and experiences. If the student spoke with an Indigenous person, the student should treat the information as a personal communication and cite as appropriate to the style they are following. If the student is an Indigenous person, then again follow the appropriate referencing style they are using, but if the written content is about the student's own experiences, then that becomes personal information.

(American Psychological Association, 2020, pp. 260-261)

Note on geographic coverage. We have aimed to be as holistic as possible covering different areas of the world. However, we found that certain geographic areas had more literature than other places. Indeed, Barry et al (2026) indicated that Australia had developed more procedures than other places. Therefore, if you feel our coverage cites more references from a couple of geographic areas, it is because that is where we found the content. 

Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges

This was an initiative developed by an organisation which acknowledged the politics of citation, and so developed the Indigenous Knowledge Attribution Toolkit (IKAT). Though it was developed for a geographical area (Victoria, Australia), it was considered that the toolkit could be used more widely. The document includes a discussion and provides criteria for evaluating materials that provide Ingidenous knowledge. The relevant and appropriateness of materials were discussed, including materials authored by Indigenous peoples, non-Indigenous peoples, including legacy publications. (Indigenous Archives Collective et al, 2023) 

Drawing on the APA referencing system, IKAT is aimed at undergraduates and provides examples of referencing resources in a way that respects Indigenous knowledge, not least through recognition of an indigenous person's country and language group. Here are some examples in the three categories of resources IKAT identified:

Indigenous authored publications that include Country/Language group affiliation

Indigenous knowledges cited in Indigenous authored publications

Indigenous knowledges cited in non-Indigenous authored publications

Images from Indigenous Archives Collective et al, 2023. Highlighted text made by authors of the publication.  

Yarning and talking circles

Barlo et al (2020) explained that these terms represent traditional ways of imparting and discussing Indigenous knowledge by Australian Aboriginal Elders (yarning) and North American First Nations Peoples (talking circles). In terms of referencing, they can be considered as alternative terms for personal communication, according to an Australian higher education institution, Bond University (2026) as part of its Harvard Style guide. 

Dynamic citation

Traditional knowledge (TK) can be a dynamic, ongoing process. As Barry et al (2026) identified, Western knowledge can be cited in a static way, whereas a more creative approach to citation may be more appropriate for TK. 

Barry et al (2026) suggested a “decision tree”, as imaged above, which researchers and First Nation knowledge holders could use to agree a way of citing TK. Barry et al. acknowledged the work of the IKAT project (mentioned above) and how that could be utilised, so that “the outcome of following the decision tree would be a Harvard or APA style in-text citation, reference, and a DOI link to a repository connected to the reference that displays a partially or fully completed table of information on which non-Indigenous researchers and First Nations group(s) agree.” 

Dynamic citation is a proposal and the group concerned welcomes comments and views from stakeholders. 

Capitalisation

Nakata et al (2005) identified the care students need to take in using, respecting and citing and referencing Indigenous Knowledge and other sources since then have also highlighted this need. One way of showing respect for Traditional and Indigenous knowledge is to capitalise most terms related to Indigenous Peoples, e.g. names of specific groups and words associated with Indigenous culture (American Psychological Association, 2020, p.261 - and most other sources). 

Personal communication

Given that personal communication has been mentioned as a way of citing and referencing traditional or indigenous knowledge, this video explains what personal communication is in referencing terms - in this case using the Harvard style, as adopted by the specific institution (Western Sydney University, Australia). 

Reference style examples

APA

In APA, for personal communication, there is no listing in a reference list, but for the parenthetical in-text citation, APA format is:

(A.A. Smith, Indigenous group, location, additional details, personal communication, March 31. 2020) 

Chicago

For Chicago, the footnote format is:

First Name Last Name of Elder, Nation, Topic/subject of communication, Personal communication, Territorial acknowledgment of where the information was shared, Month Date, Year.

Harvard

This style is dependent on the institution that has adopted the style, so it will depend on which version of Harvard the school library is following.

MLA

For MLA, the works cited list format is:

Last name, First name., Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. City/Community they live in if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. Date Month Year.

(University of British Columbia Library, 2025)