UPDATED January 26, 2024
Xàgots’eèhk’ǫ̀ Journal call for submissions; NEW DEADLINE is March 15, 2024
YELLOWKNIFE, NT – Aurora College’s journal is looking for submissions for the Spring/Summer edition. The theme for this issue has evolved as the Northwest Territories comes to grips with the experiences of wildfire evacuations and floods over the past few years, as well as ongoing systemic inequities in our context. Originally announced as Living Well, the theme has expanded, and contributions exploring Surviving and Thriving in the North are welcomed.
A conversation about living well in the North needs to understand how Northerners have and continue to survive and build meaningful lives in the face of past, present and future crises. Whether the challenges be local, national or on a global scale, the effects are being felt in the North. Resilience provides a strength-based lens to explore ideas and knowledge about how to survive and thrive in the North, while acknowledging the challenges. In this frame, contributions that explore all aspects of what it means to live well, to survive challenges, and to thrive in the North are encouraged.
Xàgots’eèhk’ǫ̀ accepts submissions from across regions, disciplines, languages and genres. Scholars, artists, researchers, youth, community members, Elders and Knowledge Holders are invited to submit original work. This can be research papers and academic work, but can also include literature reviews, essays, photo essays, conference reports, stories, oral storytelling, creative works, interviews, biographies, art and more.
The journal utilizes a relational-review model, where the rigour of peer review is inclusive of Northern Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing as well as scientific and academic knowledge. To do this, reviewers are experts from the academy as well as the community, and can include Elders, Traditional Knowledge Holders, artists and more, as best suits the piece being reviewed.
The Spring/Summer edition is co-edited by Dr. Jessica Dutton, Manager, Learning Health Systems, Community, Culture and Innovation with the GNWT Department of Health and Social Services and Dr. Candice Lys, Co-Founder and Executive Director of FOXY/SMASH. Dr. Dutton and Dr. Lys are both Research Associates at Aurora College.
Xàgots’eèhk’ǫ̀ is a collaborative project led by partners from Aurora College, Hotıì ts'eeda: NWT SPOR Support Unit, and Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. Launched in November 2022, the journal brings together multiple ways of knowing to share knowledge around each issue’s theme.
Xàgots’eèhk’ǫ̀, in the Tłı̨chǫ language, translates to having a campfire. Fire is important to Northerners; a campfire is where people gather, share stories, seek warmth, cook food, and many other activities. Like a campfire, the journal is a space to exchange information and bring together voices from across the North.
For more information or to submit to the journal, please email xagotseehko@auroracollege.nt.ca or visit https://xagotseehkojournal.com.
Quotes:
“This has been a hard year for so many Northerners. However, there are so many stories of making it through difficult times, moments of light in darkness and glimmers of hope and perseverance to share with others. We invite Northerners to pass on knowledge and experiences of surviving and guidance for others on thriving through adversity, as we all find a way forward.”
Dr. Candice Lys, Research Associate, Aurora College
“When we were deciding on the theme for this edition, we felt compelled to ask ‘are we living well?’ Is it reasonable to expect people to be living well in our current climate of consecutive large-scale crises? By centering the reality of survival and resilience, we hope to encourage a fulsome, honest, and hopeful discussion about living well in the North that acknowledges the challenges and celebrates the achievements of Northern people and communities.”
Dr. Jessica Dutton, Research Associate, Aurora College
Quick facts:
- Xàgots’eèhk’ǫ̀ Journal publishes work in any NWT official language.
- Pronounced Ha-goat-seh-ko, you can find a video on our website to help practice the pronunciation.
- Submissions will be accepted in any artistic, audio visual, or written format that can be shared in a digital web-based forum.
- Collaborative and co-authored submissions between scholarly and community worlds and Indigenous and Western knowledge systems are encouraged.
- If you need support developing your submission, please get in touch with us! We are able to offer writing and editing help as well as conducting interviews, transcribing conversations, etc. for those who are more comfortable with oral storytelling.
Related links
https://xagotseehkojournal.com
Aurora College delivers academic upgrading, trades and industrial training, certificate, diploma and degree programs to students at three campuses, 19 Community Learning Centres and other community sites in the Northwest Territories. Community-centred post-secondary programs reflect Northern culture and the needs of the Northern labour market. Aurora College’s research division, Aurora Research Institute, conducts and supports research in the NWT. Research centres are located in Inuvik, Yellowknife and Fort Smith.
For more information, please contact:
Jayne Murray
Manager, Communications & College Relations
Aurora College
Phone: 867-872-7021
Email: jmurray@auroracollege.nt.ca