Here are some examples of sources that can give us an early jump start. First is the study guide on repatriation that we already looked at; second is a study guide that may offer a different perspective; and the third is a government report.

1. Green, Rayna, et al.. American Indian Sacred Objects, Skeletal Remains, Repatriation and Reburial: A Resource Guide, 1994. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1994.
2. Barbara Meister, et al., eds. Mending the Circle: A Native American Repatriation Guide: Understanding and Implementing NAGPRA and the Official Smithsonian and Other Repatriation Policies. New York: American Indian Ritual Object Repatriation Foundation, 1996.
3. United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Providing for the Protection of Native American Graves and the Repatriation of Native American Remains and Cultural Patrimony: Report (to Accompany S. 1980) (Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office). Washington: GPO, 1990.

Why are all three of these sources almost automatically vital sources for our research? (Now don't just click the link in your passive Web-cruising mode. Research is more a matter of thought than of information-gathering. Take a moment to think, and jot down more than one answer for each item.) [Answers]

Not every library will have all three of these sources, but we can use interlibrary loans to retrieve what we need, as long as we put in our requests early in the search process. At the moment, it seems likely that we'll want to see all three, because our topic has ethical and political dimensions that require us to seek diversity of perspectives.

We may not use all three, depending on how our topic develops. The first source apparently relates to archaeological museum policies; while the second is more likely political; and the the third is a U.S. government report on the implementation and cost of repatriation. We need the wide range of viewpoints represented by all of these sources--and more. In the early stages of research, the main thing we're looking for is recent, thorough lists of sources--and the first two sources may help in this area.

Let's cling tightly to our collection of life preservers:

Steps three and four (using periodical indexes and searching the Web) are going to carry us into deeper water.

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