Call for Proposals
Indigenous Literary Arts of Truth and Redress
A Gathering of the Indigenous Literary Studies Association
Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Territory
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
3-5 June 2019
The Indigenous Literary Studies Association invites scholars, knowledge-keepers, writers, artists, and community members to reconsider dominant discourses of reconciliation through explorations of Indigenous literatures as literatures of truth, reformation, reclamation, resurgence, and redress.
This conference seeks to animate “redress” as the missing word between truth and reconciliation in Canada. Without redress, reconciliation will remain a vague, imagined ideal of a happy, inclusive country where “sharing” means that nothing changes for either Indigenous peoples or non-Indigenous Canadians. We are at a moment in time when talk about reconciliation proliferates while truth continues to go missing in numerous discursive arenas (corporations, governments, education systems). We suggest that between truth and reconciliation is a gap that can only be overcome by the restoration of and compensation for lands and resources stolen from Indigenous peoples. Beyond land and treaty rights, Indigenous sovereignty, languages, and kinship affiliations need to be restored. Indeed, some of the most vibrant invocations of Indigenous self-determination and calls to action come from our literary arts.
The Indigenous Literary Studies Association welcomes participants to consider truth, sovereignty, and redress in connection to Indigenous writings in their multiple and expansive dimensions, including discussions of literature, film, theatre, performance, storytelling, song, hip-hop, and other forms of narrative expression. We support diverse modes of creating and disseminating knowledge. Prospective participants are invited to propose conference papers, panels, roundtables, workshops, performances, and other formats for special sessions. Panel sessions will be 90 minutes in duration, including at least 15 minutes for questions and discussion. In keeping with our desire to enable dialogue and community-based learning, we welcome session proposals that utilize non-standard or alternative formats. While open to all proposals dealing with Indigenous literary arts, ILSA encourages proposals for sessions and individual presentations that engage with the following topics:
Literary Illuminations of Truth, Reformation, Reclamation, and/or Redress
Land-based Sovereignties, Pedagogies, and the Literary Arts
Kinship and Community Responsibility in Discourses of Truth and Reconciliation
Reconciliation as Discourses of Power and Privilege
Indigenous Ways of Understanding Truth and Redress
Embodied Forms of Resurgence
Indigenous Literary Protocols and the Production of Literatures of Truth
The Place of Oral Traditions and Material Cultures in Truth and Reconciliation Discourses
Indigenous Performance Arts as Arts of Truth, Self-Determination, and Reclamation
Land, Stories, and Narrative Arts in Action
Truth and Redress in Urban Indigenous Communities and the Literary Arts
Artistic Expressions of Sovereignty and Redress
The deadline for all proposals is January 15th, 2019. All proposals should be sent to indigenouslsa@gmail.com
We remind you that prospective participants must be members in order to present at ILSA 2019 in Vancouver. Membership Rates are $40 (faculty) or $20 (students, community members, or underwaged) for one year. Complete your membership application here: Membership
Thank you for your continued support. We encourage our members to contact the ILSA Council directly should you have any concerns or ideas you wish to share.
The Indigenous Literary Studies Association Council 2018-2019
Michelle Coupal, President
Allison Hargreaves, President-Elect
Daniel Heath Justice, Acting Past President
Sarah Henzi, Secretary
Aubrey Hanson, Treasurer
Svetlana Seibel, Early Career Member
Madeleine Reddon, Graduate Student Representative
Sandie Dielissen, Registrar
Email: indigenouslsa@gmail.com
