Principles of Wâhkôhtowin, Wahkhohtowin, or Wahkootowin

Rather than a rigid doctrine, wahkotowin is a living guideline for Indigenous thought and practice, reflected in epistemologies (ways of knowing), ontologies (ways of being), and axiologies (values and ethics). It asks researchers and community members to conduct themselves in ways that honor these interconnections—acting with care, respect, and responsibility toward all relations. This means Indigenous research should be grounded in reciprocity and relational accountability, with an understanding that the meaning and application of wahkotowin can adapt and evolve.

Canadian Journal of Indigenous Studies (CJIS) is announcing a Call for Papers for a special edition on the Principles of Wâhkôhtowin, Wahkhohtowin, or Wahkootowin. The issue will include following series sections: scholarly articles, Indigenous stories and language, artistic practices, current topics and book reviews which align with a collective understanding of what Wâhkôhtowin is and how it is present in our world today.

Abstract/Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2026
Manuscript submission deadline: March 15, 2027
Decision date: May 15, 2027
Publication issue: Fall 2027

Canadian Journal of Indigenous Studies (CJIS) is announcing a Call for Papers for a special edition on the Principles of Wâhkôhtowin, Wahkhohtowin, or Wahkootowin. The issue will include following series sections: scholarly articles, Indigenous stories and language, artistic practices, current topics and book reviews.
Our preference is to publish Indigenous scholarship and scholarship that assists emerging Indigenous scholars to raise their research profile through co-authoring papers with known scholars.

CJIS aims to provide an open access journal to increase the visibility and impact of Indigenous scholarship both in the academy and beyond. Increasing public engagement, citation, and usage while being inclusive of our Indigenous communities.

CJIS Policies
https://cjis.uwinnipeg.ca/index.php/CJIS/policies

Scholarly Articles
We welcome scholarly articles from any discipline that must be accompanied by an abstract (100 words maximum) and embedded in the piece a positionality statement as modelled in past editions of CJIS.

Style and length: Manuscripts should be formatted in the appropriate referencing style for your discipline (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago) and be a maximum of 8,000 words.
Anonymous Review: All submissions will undergo a double peer review. The authors must delete their names from the text. This includes the reference list and footnotes, where "Author" and year, instead of the authors' names, publication title, etc. should be used to cite any publications written by the authors themselves. Author identification should also be removed from the file properties.

Indigenous Peoples Stories and Language Feature
We invite stories that celebrate good work led by Indigenous peoples. Stories may take the form of news-like articles about community members and/or projects or short stories that center Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Stories profiling the work of others should include the contact information of both the author and the individual or group being celebrated.

Each story submission should be a maximum of 1500 words and must be accompanied by an author biography (100 words) and a community connection statement (200 words).

Artistic Practices Visual Culture
We welcome submissions relating to visual culture, which can include critical reviews (visual art, performance, exhibition, film) to a maximum of 1500 words, or art images, performance documentation or film stills, with an artist statement (maximum 150 words).
Submissions in this section must be accompanied by an author bibliography (100 words) and community connection statement (200 words).

Combined visual files should not exceed 4GB. Image files (up to 10 images may be submitted) should be in JPEG format, RGB colour mode, and be no larger than 1.5 MB. Please name your file: 01filename. For example: 01janedoe

Poetry
We invite established and emerging poets to submit and ask that poems be completed upon submission.
Poetry submitted to CJIS must be accompanied by an author biography (100 words) and community connection statement (200 words).

Current Topics
We welcome contemporary topics articles from any discipline that must be accompanied by an abstract (100 words maximum). Topics to be explored could include pretendians, identity fraud, Bill C-53, etc.
Style and length: Manuscripts should be formatted in the appropriate referencing style for your discipline (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago) and be a maximum of 4,000 words.
Anonymous Review: All submissions will undergo a double peer review. The authors must delete their names from the text. This includes the reference list and footnotes, where "Author" and year, instead of the authors' names, publication title, etc. should be used to cite any publications written by the authors themselves. Author identification should also be removed from the file properties.

Book Reviews
We invite reviews of books on Indigenous topics relevant to developments in Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Book reviews should be a maximum of 1500 words and include a summary of the book's information, a concise overview of themes, and a critical analysis of the significance of the work.
Submissions should include an author biography (100 words) and a community connection statement (200 words).
For submissions https://cjis.uwinnipeg.ca/index.php/CJIS/about/submissions