Transforming the University: 

Alaska Native Studies in the 21st Century

Alaska Native Studies Conference

April 5 – 6, 2013 

University of Alaska Anchorage campus

Hosted by the University of Alaska

The Alaska Native Studies Council invites submissions on research and activism from all fields related to Alaska Native Studies of the past, present, and future for the first ever Alaska Native Studies Conference.

The Alaska Native Studies Council promotes a deeper and more sustained commitment to integrating Indigenous perspectives into a variety of educational settings. Our mission is to identify, develop, and implement Native-focused curricula, to promote and publish Alaska Native-related research and pedagogical strategies, and to develop a strategic plan to help us attain these goals.

Scholars and practitioners from all fields are invited to submit proposals that address a variety of issues including, but not limited to: Culturally Responsive Leadership and Education, Alaska Native Identities, Alaska Native Languages, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), Self-Determination and Sovereignty, Documenting and Honoring Indigenous Knowledge Systems, History, Oral Traditions and Contemporary Texts, Indigenous Research Methodologies, Alaska Native Science and Math,  Indigenous Pedagogies vs. Western Paradigms, Subsistence and Sustainability.

Formats include, but are not limited to:

• individual papers (20 minutes)
• panels (3-4 participants, 90 minutes)
• roundtables (3-5 participants, 90 minutes)
• poster presentations
• alternative formats (workshops, performances, film, media, 30 minutes)

Please send proposal submissions in digital format by December 1, 2012, and include the following: 

• a paragraph describing the panel theme and/or title or presentation;
• the format (individual paper, roundtable, panel, performance, etc.);
• name(s) and address and email contact information of presenter(s)

Additional Dates & Information:

• Proposal notifications/acceptances will be sent out by February 1, 2013.
• The preliminary program will be posted by March 15, 2013.
• Pre-registration will end March 1, 2013 (check the conference website for registration and updates).
• Address any questions to: email@alaskanativestudies.org.
• Conference program and further updates will be posted at: http://alaskanativestudies.org

• The Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley Indigenous Scholar Award will be presented during the closing of the conference. This award is in recognition of Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley’s inimitable role in articulating the significance of Indigenous knowledge systems, ways of knowing and world-views in the contemporary world.
• Papers accepted for the conference will be considered for publication in the inaugural volume of the Journal of Alaska Native Studies, edited by the Alaska Native Studies Conference Program Committee.   This journal will present the diversity of Alaska Native Studies research and activism being carried out within and across a range of disciplines.

Program Committee: 

Lance Twitchell (Tlingit/Haida/Yup’ik), UAS – Chair

Beth Leonard (Athabascan), UAF, co-Chair

Maria Williams (Tlingit), UAA, co-Chair

Sharon Lind (Aleut/Unangan), UAA, co-Chair