Shekon Neechie provides a venue for Indigenous historians to gather as an e-community and share their ideas or works in progress. “Historian” in this case is broadly defined as a person who researches and presents Indigenous histories in essays, stories, photographs, videos, podcasts, or through other means and whose work is based in oral history and traditions, archival research, archaeology, and material interpretation. The historians featured here are formally trained – either within the academy or in the community – or self-taught.
We encourage well-established Indigenous historians, graduate and undergraduate students, and community historians from around the world to submit their works. Those submitting to Shekon Neechie will be given feedback from other Indigenous historians. We consider Shekon Neechie a place for thoughtful and generous peer review, as pieces will be read to ensure quality of writing or other formats, as well as the argument presented.
Shekon Neechie is entirely Indigenous conceived, created, and controlled. Though there are many history websites in Canada and abroad that attempt to convey Indigenous perspectives, their managing boards, advisory councils, editors, staff, and contributors are all (or nearly all) people who reflect the relative homogeneity and whiteness of the historical profession writ large. While these sites offer opportunities for Indigenous writers and scholars to contribute pieces for special Indigenous-focused issues or invite Indigenous scholars to act as guest contributors, they are not sites where Indigenous peoples have a stake in the production or curation of intellectual discourses. It is important for Indigenous historians to find our way into spaces dominated by non-Indigenous scholars. However, it is equally important for us to carve out spaces where our work is centered and in conversation with other Indigenous historians. Shekon Neechie is one such space.