Supporting an emerging field requires innovation, investment, and infrastructure. Leaders must focus on community-building and engagement to foster sustained interest and growth. Even further, transformation in the academy—only one part of the scholarly ecosystem—must reach beyond campus to the publishing and librarianship sectors.

In this third episode, Deanna Reder, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies and English at Simon Fraser University and author of Autobiography as Indigenous Intellectual Tradition, discusses initiatives that she has introduced and supported in the Indigenous Studies field. In the past decade, she has worked to build a community of scholars, widen the discipline’s scope, and cultivate a new generation of Indigenous editors in publishing. Deanna walks through the conception and evolution of the Indigenous Literary Studies Association (ILSA), the professional development purpose of the Indigenous Editors Association, and publisher support for the Indigenous Voices Awards.

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