As issues posting dates were late for the seasons we have been calling them, we are moving issues up one season. Thus this issue is “summer” instead of “spring”. Our previous “Summer (with the WSSA AIS Proceedings) issues will now become “Fall”.

COMPILED December 20, 2011 - ISSN 2158-4168

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CALL FOR PAPERS/COMMENTARY

SPECIAL ISSUE OF INDIGENOUS POLICY,SPRING 2012
ANTHROPOLOGY, ARCHEOLOGY AND LITIGATION—ALASKA STYLE
PART 1:  CULTURE CHANGE AND CONTINUITY
PART 2:  THE “LOCAL GROUP” CONCEPT, OR WHEN IS A TRIBE NOT A TRIBE?
Editors:  Rita A. Miraglia, and Steven R. Street

In two recent legal cases in the State of Alaska, the testimony of archeologists and anthropologists has been presented by defendants in court cases brought by Alaska Native groups.  In the mid-1990s, witnesses testifying for Exxon successfully “proved” that Alutiiq culture could not have been damaged by the spill, because by 1989 it had ceased to exist. One Exxon consultant remarked in his deposition that the residents of the Alutiiq communities were no different from any other typical middle class Americans, because he had observed them using Betty Crocker cake mix.  In a 2008 trial involving aboriginal hunting and fishing rights on the outer continental shelf (OCS), some anthropologists and archeologist presented testimony on behalf of the United States Federal Government that sought to deny the existence of a pan-Chugach Alutiiq identity prior to contact with Europeans.  The general idea is summed up in the statement, “Prince William Sound and the lower Kenai Peninsula are the ancestral home of local groups that later became known as the Chugach people.” There have been two symposia in Alaska on the topic. The first in 1995 on Culture Change and Continuity, the second in 2009 combining that topic with the question of When is a Tribe not a Tribe?; some of the papers from these sessions will be published in the special issue.  However, the organizers believe this topic is of interest beyond Alaska, and we would like to solicit contributions from outside our region, to bring in other perspectives. Generally, we are looking for papers and commentary on theoretical aspects of the various issues raised here, as they might apply anywhere, not just in Alaska.  We welcome submissions from all points of view. Submissions should be sent to Rita Miraglia at rita.miraglia@bia.gov.  Deadline for submissions is October 30, 2011.

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INDIGENOUS POLICY PLANS FOR 2011-12 - WE INVITE YOUR HELP AND INPUT

We hope that you are having a fine summer. Indigenous Policy journal is available on the web with e-mail notification of new issues at no charge. Indigenous Policy puts out two regular issues a year (Summer and Winter), and since summer 2006, what will now be a fall issue serving as the Proceedings of the Western Social Science Association Meeting American Indian Studies Section. We are seeking additional editors, columnists and commentators for regular issues, and editors or editorial groups for special issues, and short articles for each issue. As IPJ is now a refereed journal, articles are being posted on a different schedule from the rest of the journal. New articles are added to already posted issues, and will remain up when issues change, until replaced by new articles. Notices go out to our list serve when new issues are posted, and when new articles are posted. To be added to the list to receive e-mail notice of new postings of issues, and new postings of articles, send an e-mail to Seve Sachs: ssachs@earthlink.net.

Jeff Corntassel and colleagues put together a special winter 2002 issue with a focus on “federal recognition and Indian Sovereignty at the turn of the century.” We had a special issue on international Indigenous affairs summer 2004. We invite short articles, reports, announcements and reviews of meetings, media and media, programs and events, and short reports of news, commentary and exchange of views, as well as willingness to put together special issues.

     Send us your thoughts and queries about issues and interests and replies can be printed in the next issue and/or made by e-mail. In addition, we will carry Indigenous Studies Network (ISN) news and business so that these pages can be a source of ISN communication and dialoguing in addition to circular letters and annual meetings at APSA. In addition to being the newsletter/journal of the Indigenous Studies Network, we collaborate with the Native American Studies Section of the Western Social Science Association (WSSA) and provide a dialoguing vehicle for all our readers. This is your publication. Please let us know if you would like to see more, additional, different, or less coverage of certain topics, or a different approach or format.

      IPJ is a refereed journal. Submissions of articles should go to Tad Conner, conner03@ou.edu, who will send them out for review. Our process is for non-article submissions to go to Steve Sachs, who drafts each regular issue. Unsigned items are by Steve. Paula Mohan, Phil Bellfy, Ignacio Ochoa and Michael (Mickey) Posluns then make editing suggestions to Steve. Thomas Brasdefer puts this Journal on the web.