The event will be held in a hybrid format making the conference a truly global Indigenous event with eight post-secondary institutions and networks hosting regional gatherings between March – June 2022.
Dechinta is a recognized and award-winning global leader in land-based and Indigenous-led post-secondary education. As the host, Dechinta will connect conference participants to other Indigenous post-secondary education leaders through a series of gatherings that will reach communities from Bodø and the Northwest Territories in the North to Nayarit and Queensland in the South.
Thought leaders, community members, Elders, academics, and students focused on advancing Indigenous Studies will converge for gatherings (virtually and in-person) in the following countries: Australia, Canada, México, Norway, Taiwan, and USA. Global movements for decolonization of education and knowledge systems are a key component for tackling the major disruptive issues of our time such as climate emergencies, public and mental health crises, and economic justice. These gatherings will further support the important work revitalizing Indigenous knowledge systems and promote greater international collaboration amongst Indigenous Nations.
NAISA’s Annual Meeting brings together over 1,000 faculty and students in colleges, universities, Indigenous-led post-secondary institutions and tribal colleges; community-based scholars and elders; and independent professionals working in the field of Indigenous Studies.
Following local COVID-19 protocols, Dechinta will be hosting NAISA North, a series of virtual and in-person events will take place in locations across the Northwest Territories and the Yukon:
Sustaining Indigenous Liveliness: NAISA North
Date(s): Virtual Programming; May 15 to June 15, In-Person Programming; Whitehorse, May 25-27, Yellowknife June 23-25.
URL: www.dechinta.ca/NAISA2022
Summary: This hybrid series of gatherings will focus on Northern Issues; Land-based research; Land-based Education; Decolonial Feminisms; Self-Determination, Governance, and Law; 2SLGBTQQIA+ issues in the North, Solidarity & Internationalism; Land-based and Northern Creative Practice; Resurgence & Decolonization. The in-person components will include land-based activities such as hide tanning, medicine harvesting and dry-fish-making.
"NAISA is the largest scholarly Indigenous Studies association in the world with it’s core membership in North America. However, since its inception as an association in 2009, NAISA quickly became the most important Indigenous academic gathering globally, during a decade where Indigenous politics, resistance and knowledge grew in prominence worldwide.
Typically, the association has gathered once a year at a single venue, however, the pandemic has given us the opportunity to re-think the norm. In 2022 NAISA Council decided to host a series of gatherings that will enable our membership to come together in smaller more intimate groups with a focus on local Indigenous knowledges. Some of the gatherings’ content will also be made available online.
Council was overwhelmingly supportive of the Dechinta gathering because of it’s focus on Northern-based knowledge, community-based researchers and Elder participation. Dechinta will join seven other NAISA co-sponsored events around the world to be hosted in Australia, Norway, México, Taiwan, Ontario, and the US."
Professor Brendan Hokowhitu, NAISA President, Professor of Indigenous Research, University of Queensland
“The NAISA conference is the leading international event for post-secondary institutions and scholars who are actively protecting and advancing Indigenous Knowledge. Dechinta is honoured to be recognized as a host institution that can bring together a wide range of people from Elders, Indigenous Knowledge-Holders, community-based researchers, northern-based academics and independent scholars. The opportunity to bring together people from around the world, through a series of virtual and in-person events will prioritize the provide a global platform for Northern Indigenous graduate students, emerging academics, artists and local Knowledge Holders to learn and share knowledge affecting some of the most pressing matters of our time.”
-Dr. Kelsey Wrightson, Executive Director, Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Kelsey Wrightson
Executive Director
Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning
867-445-1897