About SKIPP

One of the core goals of SKIPP is to weave together much of the excellent research and teaching scholarship already present at the U of A, as well as recognize the long and storied relationships to place that characterize Indigenous ways of being throughout the world.

Within this broad framework, several areas of concentration already exist; however, when brought together, these themes coalesce around knowledges (including languages), peoples, and place within a complex set of relations.

KNOWLEDGES:

We use knowledges, in the plural, to represent different Indigenous ways of knowing that exist in this place and around the world, including languages, epistemologies, and worldviews. Indigenous knowledge in research and teaching, both locally and globally, is the focus of many scholars and programs on our campuses, from Augustana to Education, to the new PhD program in Native Studies.  A 20+ year history of language teaching through CILLDI and strengths in Linguistics and Native Studies highlight the significance of language to Indigenous peoples.

PEOPLES:

We have scholars on campus who work within an emerging global understanding of Indigenous peoples, both in terms of their rights through UNDRIP, but also the relationship between past and present, and the ways in which Indigenous communities have been impacted by colonization. Two CRCs, held by Indigenous women, are focused on these issues, among many other scholars on campus who work on decolonial research approaches, political and legal understandings of contemporary Indigenous identities, and the resilience of Indigenous women.

PLACE:

The scholarship on the depth of Indigenous people’s connections to place, an inclusive concept that includes lands, waters, and both human and other-than-human beings, emphasizes the importance of learning from being in place. Understanding the role that place has in Indigenous communities helps research the impacts of dispossession and disconnection from those places.