CFP, Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) 2014 Annual Meeting:
“Exploring Contemporary Indigeneity”
University of Texas at Austin
May 29-31, 2014
Given the damage done to indigenous cultures during colonial era up to and including assimilation policies, intermarriage, and cultural hybridization; and given the environmental and cultural challenges posed by modernity, what does ‘indigeneity’ mean in the 21st century?” “Indigenous” means “originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country,” and for peoples, the term contains the sense of a strong link to territory and its environment and non-human inhabitants.
Today many people who identify as “indigenous” do not reside in their ancestral lands. Many have lost connection to language, ritual, and many other cultural aspects and characteristics. Modern indigeneity can involve so much hybridity with the dominant culture as to be questioned by scholars as to its “authenticity.” At the same time, there are non-“indigenous peoples” who have developed deep roots, cultural patterns, and relationships and responsibilities to the land.
Given that humanity’s disconnect from the land lies at the root of contemporary environmental and socio-cultural crises, this session asks to explore aspects of indigeneity in the 21st century. Papers on any relevant topic are welcome, including constructs of “whiteness” and “blackness.”
The DEADLINE to submit your abstract / proposal to NAISA is November 15, 2013, so please submit your abstract to me ASAP. For more information on the 2014 NAISA conference, go to
http://conferences.la.utexas.edu/naisa2014/
Note that NAISA rules allow an individual to be associated with ONE proposal only.
Send proposals or inquiries to
Douglas Herman
Senior Geographer,
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
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