Indigenous Editors Association
About us |
The Indigenous Editors Association is a membership organization that was formed by Indigenous editors and publishing professionals in lands claimed by Canada as a mutual support network. We are here to carry out the vision of our early organizers and to create professional development and networking opportunities. Our purpose is to:
Indigenous stories and knowledge systems must be approached with Indigenous community-focused editing practices, employed with care by Indigenous editors. The IEA connects Indigenous people who work with stories with each other. In our diverse roles—as editors, proofreaders, knowledge keepers, Indigenous language and culture experts, designers, publishing professionals, and more—we will strategize, share, and learn together. We will take part in publishing and storytelling on our terms and with the needs of our communities in the centre of the circle. We hope to share our stories in a good way with each other and the world—the stories that created us and the ones that heal us.
|
|
|
Our history |
| First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples and our stories, knowledges, and experiences are diverse, but we have always been storytellers. Stories are integral to our systems of knowledge and our ways of life; to our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world and on the land. But most books about us have been produced by outsiders with little understanding. The results, as Daniel Heath Justice says in Why Indigenous Literatures Matter, are a mix of “stories that wound, stories that heal.” Indigenous writers and community members have long pointed out examples of poor publishing practices. In some cases, our stories have been suppressed or distorted to fit the dominant historical account of settler/Indigenous interactions. In others, settler stories perpetuate racist stereotypes, collapse our diversity into a pan-Indigenous world, paint us as a vanishing race, or erase our part in the telling and steal our stories outright. Acts of “destructive editing” persist. In a context of ongoing colonial violence and dehumanization, the resulting wounds echo through our lives and generations. The Indigenous Editors Association formed to ensure projects involving Indigenous stories and storytellers are led by, and benefit, the Indigenous communities from which they originate. The first Circle (then known as the Aboriginal Editors Circle) was held in 2014 under the leadership of Saskatchewan Arts Board program consultant Joanne Gerber, an Aboriginal editors’ working group, and writers, publishers, and arts administrators, with support from the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. The workshop ran in what is now known as Saskatchewan, which lies in the territories of the Niitsítpiis-stahkoii (Blackfoot / Niitsítapi), Michif Piyii (Métis), Nêhiyaw-Askiy (Plains Cree), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) Peoples. In 2015, the group met again in Saskatchewan and established our Guiding Principles (see below). Métis writer Rita Bouvier drafted the “philosophical concept paper” that informed the group’s discussions. Indigenous participants and faculty emphasized the need to move from appropriation to collaboration. Gerber says, “We always had a rule, from the beginning, that there always had to be more [I]ndigenous people in the room than non-[I]ndigenous […] We were never trying to proscribe. We were trying to learn.” |
In 2017, the Circle was organized at Humber College in Adoobiigok as a pair of week-long workshops: the Indigenous Editors Circle for Indigenous participants, and Editing Indigenous Manuscripts for publishing representatives. Faculty were Warren Cariou, Cherie Dimaline, Gregory Scofield, and Gregory Younging. Attendees all gathered together in the mornings, then divided into two groups in the afternoons. Gerber explains, “Sometimes the topic would be the same but the conversation would be different.” While trusted non-Indigenous publishing industry representatives were invited to share insight on panels, the focus remained on Indigenous storytellers and Elders and their knowledge. Overwhelming attendance at that most recent Indigenous Editors Circle demonstrated growing interest from the publishing and education fields in the diverse knowledge-keeping and storytelling practices of Indigenous people. The Indigenous Editors Association (IEA) formed when faculty recognized the need for a dedicated place for Indigenous editors to gather and respond. Rhonda Kronyk and her son Dallas established the IEA website in 2018; and with the dedicated work of key organizers, Deanna Reder, Suzanne Norman, and Rachel Taylor, the IEA was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit society under the B.C. Societies Act in 2019. Since incorporation, volunteer organizers have been developing the organizations structures, planning programming and professional development opportunities for members, and attending community and partner events and gatherings to speak on behalf of the IEA. Between 2022-2023 we have been able to begin hiring our first employees and paid support workers to grow our core team. Today, the IEA relies on the work of staff and volunteers who dedicate time to building relationships and thinking through future plans. |
Our future |
IEA guiding principles
At the 2015 Indigenous Editors Circle, participants developed the following draft guiding principles for working with Indigenous authors and editors in Canada.
|
|
|
The Indigenous Editors Circle recommends setting aside a specific portion of public funding for writers to support Indigenous writers.
The Indigenous Editors Circle envisions Canadian publishers that will:
- respond responsibly to feedback about publications that are offensive to Indigenous readers;
- undergo Indigenous cultural sensitivity training;
- recruit and retain Indigenous editors to publish and develop Indigenous authors;
- provide career guidance to new Indigenous authors, mindful of the potential responsibilities of authors to provide public readings in home communities that might be far away; and
- respect the localities and diversities of place, language, sexual orientation, and multiple genders.
Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
To promote recognition of, and employment access and equity for, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples who work with stories, including editors, writers, knowledge keepers, Elders, language experts, and those with other specialized skills across lands claimed by Canada; and to ensure that publishing projects by, for, and about Indigenous people are Indigenous-led, follow appropriate protocols, and respect Indigenous knowledge systems and Intellectual Property rights.
Vision
Our vision is of a world where Indigenous knowledge is properly valued. We want to see editors, storytellers, and publishing professionals recognized and properly compensated for their knowledge and expertise. Indigenous publishing professionals should have all the resources they need to not only enjoy rewarding careers, but to fulfill their responsibilities.
Values
Indigenous Peoples and cultures are diverse, and we as individuals bring a diversity of experiences and values to our work. Our communities remain at the centre of the work we do, and our shared values include:
- Respect and responsibility;
- Transparency and accountability;
- Representation and inclusion;
- Accessibility for our Elders, youth, and all our relations.