Dr. Lara Jacobs, the keynote speaker for this year’s USET Tribal Climate Resilience Camp, is one of the guest editors seeking submissions for a special issue of the Parks Stewardship Forum. The Special Issue on #LANDBACK through Rematriation is guest edited by Dr. Lara A. Jacobs (Citizen of Muscogee (Creek) Nation with Choctaw heritage; Michigan State University), Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaka’pamux and Secwepemc; University of British Columbia), Dr. Luhui Whitebear (Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation; Oregon State University), Cherry Y.E.W. Yamane (Kanaka ʻŌiwi; University of North Dakota), Jeanette Koelsch (Nome Eskimo Community; National Park Service), and Dr. Melinda M. Adams (N’dee, San Carlos Apache; University of Kansas). This special issue provides a platform for Indigenous Peoples to share their experiences and Knowledge related to #LANDBACK and Rematriation.

We invite contributions in various formats, including academic manuscripts, stories, poems, songs, artwork, and photo essays.

Important Dates:

  • Abstracts (up to 400 words) due: September 1, 2024
  • Decision notifications: October 1, 2024
  • Full submissions due: February 1, 2025

Submission Details:

  • Email abstracts, author listings, and positionality statements to Lara Jacobs at jacob475@msu.edu by September 1, 2024.
  • We welcome contributions from Indigenous Youth, Elders, community members, and academics.
  • Submissions can be in Indigenous languages or English.
  • Contributors will be compensated, with the exact amount determined later by our fundraising efforts. (If you or your organization would like to help fund this project, please contact us!)
  • The Parks Stewardship Forum is an open access journal. For more information about the Parks Stewardship Forum, visit PSF website.

Topics for Consideration:

Below, we provide a listing of topic areas to consider for proposals, but each topic area should also be connected to Rematriation and #LANDBACK in the context of the world’s parks, protected areas, cultural sites, and other forms of place-based conservation. 

  • Indigenous-led land, water, wildlife, and plant management paradigms and models
  • Co-equity-based land, water, wildlife, and plant management paradigms and models.
  • The practical implications of #LANDBACK in the U.S. (e.g., case studies from Australia or Canada, examples from other areas around the world, and/or theoretical implications)
  • Indigenous resistance, activism, environmental justice, and social movements
  • Indigenous Arts, Artists, and Creative Expressions
  • Colonization, Decolonization, Indigenizing, and Survivance
  • Indigenous food sovereignty
  • Indigenous histories and historiography
  • Preserving Indigeneity, place-based Peoples, and place-based conservation efforts 
  • Reclamation of Indigenous Languages and Place Names 
  • Indigenous Futurities and Feminisms
  • Indigenous Methodologies
  • Place-Based Museum and Archival Reclamation 
  • Tribal Historic Preservation Work
  • Cultural and Land Resource Management
  • Good Fire (Indigenous cultural fire reclamation and land restoration) 
  • Indigenous Law, Sovereignty, Autonomy, and Governance