Navajo Studies Subject Guide: Journal and Magazine Articles

Print Indexes and Bibliographies

The San Juan College Library has a variety of print indexes to periodical literature. These are good places to begin to find citations to journal and magazine articles. 

• Business Periodicals Index:  Covers business periodicals from August 1989 to the present. 
• Education Index: Covers education periodicals from 1989 to the present.  Earlier editions, back to 1971, are available upon request. 
• Humanities Index: Covers major humanities periodicals, including history and literature.
• Social Sciences Index: Indexes periodicals from the social sciences, including education, political science, and sociology.

Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature. Indexes popular magazines. 

Several bilbiographies on Navajo subjects have appeared in the last several decades. The following titles can be found in the Southwest Reference Collection. They are a good place to begin research on a topic.

• Bahr, Howard M. Diné bibliography to the 1990s : a companion to the Navajo bibliography of 1969 (SW Reference, E99.N3 B34 1999) 
• Correll, J. Lee. Navajo bibliography : with subject index (SW Locked Case, Z1210.N3 C67 1969) 
• Howard, N. Jill. Navajos, Apaches and Pueblos since 1940 : a selective bibliography (SW Reference, E78.S7 H69 1995) 
• Iverson, Peter. The Navajos : a critical bibliography (SW Reference, Z1210.N3 I93 1976) 

Electronic Indexes and Fulltext Databases

San Juan College subscribes to many electronic indexes and fulltext databases. They can generally be searched by author, title, subject, and keyword. 

In a subject search, the database searches only the subject field. Subject headings (or descriptors) are approved terms that an indexer assigns to an article.

A keyword search searches every field of a citation (author, title, abstract, subject) and, in some cases, the fulltext of an article. These searches will often produce more results. For example, a keyword search for the term "Navajo" will look for every record that includes the term. Thus, it will pick up material about Navajo Dam or Navajo County, and not just the Navajo Nation.

For a tutorial on searching electronic databases, click here.

The following is a brief summary of some of the electronic databases and indexes that are likely to include material on Navajo Studies. If you find a citation to an article in a journal that San Juan College does not have, you can request it through InterLibrary Loan.

Ethnic NewsWatch

Includes an index and full text of the Navajo Times from 1995 to the present.

First Search

Includes 58 different databases. You can search more than one at a time.  Covers a wide range of popular and scholarly journals. Many provide fulltext articles.

Some important indexes available through First Search:

Dissertations (Dissertation Abstracts)
Selectively covers masters theses and dissertations including dissertations from Canada, Great Britain, and Europe. From 1980 to the present. See the Reference Librarian about obtaining dissertation and theses through InterLibrary Loan.  There is no subject heading for Navajo. Keyword searches on "Navajo" and "Dineh" produced results.

Humanities Abstracts
Features abstracts of articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays and television and radio programs. Covers a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and selective coverage of the social sciences.  Includes some fulltext.

Some journals indexed in Humanities Abstracts:

• American Indian Culture and Research Journal (from 1995)
• The American Indian Quarterly (from 1983)
• Ethnohistory (from 1995)

Some useful subject headings in Humanities Abstracts:

• Navajo Indians. 
• Navajo Indians in literature. 
• Navajo language 
• Indians of North America 

Social Sciences Abstracts
Provides citations and some fulltext articles from 1983 to the present. Provides coverage of all of the major social science disciplines.  A good place to search for anthropology, archaeology, and political science topics.

Some journals indexed in Social Science Abstracts:

• American Anthropologist (1984+)
• American Ethnologist (1982+)
• American Indian Culture and Research Journal (1994+) 
• Current Anthropology (1982+) 
• Ethnohistory (1981+) 
• Ethnology (1982+)

Some useful subject headings in Social Science Abstracts:

• Navajo Indians. 
• Indians of North America 

Wilson Select Plus
Provides coverage of both social science and humanities topics, in both popular media and scholarly journals. A good place to begin a general search. Note that many of these same titles are also indexed in other First Search databases. Wilson SelectPlus includes only the most recent material, but it is available in fulltext.

Some journals indexed in Wilson Select Plus:

• American Anthropologist (1998+) 
• American Ethnologist (1998+) 
• American Indian Culture and Research Journal (1998+) 
• Annual Review of Anthropology (1995+) 
• Anthropological Quarterly (1995+) 
• Anthropology & Education Quarterly (1998+) 
• Journal of American Folklore (1998+) 
• Journal of American Indian Education (1996+) 
• Journal of the Southwest (1998+) 
• Southwest Review (1995+) 

Some useful subject headings in Wilson SelectPlus:

• Navajo Indians.
• Indians of North America 

Gale Literary Databases

A good place to look for material on authors and literature.  Includes Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Dictionary of Literary Biography.

Proquest

Provides access to more than 4,000 fulltext journals  and citations to thousands more. Includes indexes to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal back to 1985. See the guide to Navajo News Sources for more information. 

Special subject modules are listed below.  See the specialized Navajo subject guides for more information.

• Arts Module
• Business Module (see Navajo Economic and Business Resources Guide)
• Children's Module
• Education Module (see Navajo Education Resources Guide)
• General Interest Module
• Health Module
• Humanities Module
• International Module
• Law Module (see Navajo Legal Resources Guide)
• Military Module
• Multicultural Module
• Psychology Module (see Navajo Psychology Resources Guide)
• Sciences Module
• Social Science Module
• Women's Interest Module

Subject headings in these databases tend to be fairly general. Some possible subject headings:

• Native Americans
• Navajo Tribe (in company name field)

NewsBank

Provides fulltext coverage of newspapers, including several regional ones. Click here for more information on news sources that cover the Navajo Nation and people.

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Journals in the SJC Collection

A sample list of journals in the San Juan College collection that are good sources for Navajo subjects:

*Titles also held at San Juan College West. Check periodicals list for holdings.

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Updated December 7, 2001

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