JHI Visiting Indigenous Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor Aroha Harris, recently convened a gathering of Indigenous scholars of Indigenous historical studies together with Professor Mary Jane McCallum. The event drew on existing networks between Indigenous historical collectives Shekon Neechie (Turtle Island Canada) and Te Pouhere Kōrero (Aotearoa New Zealand). Twenty-four Indigenous faculty and graduate students met on November 23, 2024 at Woodland Cultural Center, Brantford, on the territory of Six Nations of the Grand River and encompassed by Haudenosaunee hospitality and protocols.
Prompted by the assertation that “the future of History is Indigenous”, the gathering contemplated how a wholesale revision and reorientation of the discipline of capital-H History might be generated by fundamentally grounding and then building from the history of Original Peoples. Discussion began with ‘lightning’ presentations from Drs Aroha Harris (JHI), Mary Jane McCallum (University of Winnipeg), Robert Innes (McMaster University), and Robert Caldwell (University at Buffalo). Facilitated by Professor Susan M Hill, Director of the Center for Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto, they explored the implications, possibilities, and limitations of history writing and research being truly the future of History. What strategies can strengthen Indigenous historical studies? What current conditions, policies, and processes support and impede the goals of Indigenous historical scholars? The panel discussion opened up to a wide-ranging Q&A session followed by small-group conversations among participants. Among the several hot topics canvassed were:
- The relationships between disciplinary History and Indigenous history and Indigenous Studies—what works and doesn’t work in the gaps and overlaps among these areas of scholarly activity?
- The role and future for Indigenous history organizations like Shekon Neechie—how do Indigenous scholars work toward our distinct goals and aspirations when we are consistently time and resource poor?
- Ethical codes, standards, policies, and practices—what might these look like if they were grounded in Indigenous knowledge and tailored for Indigenous historical scholars and scholarship?
Harris and her colleagues are incredibly grateful for the opportunity presented by the JHI fellowship to generate a kind of gathering that is all too rare, a meeting of academic friends that is at once trans-Indigenous and trans-disciplinary and also dedicated to Indigenous histories. With scholars joining from both sides of ‘the border’ and also across the Pacific Ocean, the Future of History is Indigenous was very much a dream event. They look forward to working on the next steps.
