Spotlight on Inclusive Subject Headings & Journals: Indigenous Peoples Headings (Part 2)
by Todd Aiello
/October 28, 2022
In the previous blog post in our “Spotlight On” series, we investigated how Atla has made efforts to update topical authorities to make them more inclusive, focusing on the work done to update indigenous peoples’ headings (guided by the indigenous peoples’ own self-identification).
This month we continue this topic, delving into a recent conversation that Todd Aiello, Atla’s Product Specialist, had with Jill Annitto, Head of Metadata and Editorial Operations, and Nina Shultz, Metadata Editor, about titles related to indigenous peoples.
Nina, our in-house expert on indigenous materials, noted that in the field of religion and theology, adding titles related to indigenous peoples can present unique challenges. The archival and research material about these traditions and cultures is scarcer than that of larger traditions. Access to the resources that do exist is often restricted. Facing that, Atla is proud to have assembled a sizeable offering of journals related to indigenous peoples.
The Atla Religion Database® (Atla RDB®) includes more than 25,000 articles related to the indigenous people of the Americas alone, and more than 3,000 on African peoples, 750 on Asian peoples, 500 on Arctic peoples, 500 on Indic peoples, 350 on Aboriginal Australians, 200 on European/Germanic peoples, and 170 on Turkic peoples. Researchers should encounter far more relevant articles and essays thanks to this project.
We’ve highlighted some below.
Indexed in Atla Religion Database
Ab-Original, published by Pennsylvania State University Press, founded in 2017 and indexed starting with Volume 3, Issue 1 in 2019, is devoted to issues of indigeneity in the new millennium. It is a multidisciplinary journal embracing themes such as art, history, literature, politics, linguistics, health sciences, and law. It is a portal for new knowledge and contemporary debate whose audience is not only that of academics and students, but professionals involved in shaping policies relating to indigenous peoples. The research is presented in English.
Allpanchis, published by Instituto de Pastoral Andina, founded in 1969 and indexed starting in 1984, publishes articles related to the Andean world from a multidisciplinary perspective. With the original name of Allpanchis Phuturinqa (“our land will bear its fruit”), the journal continues to be a space for the dissemination of original scientific studies as well as the social sciences and humanities. Its special geographic emphasis is the Andean zone without excluding other American experiences. The research is presented in Spanish.
American Indian Quarterly, published by the University of Nebraska Press, founded in 1974 and indexed beginning that same year, is a forum for diverse voices and perspectives spanning a variety of academic disciplines. The common thread is AIQ’s commitment to publishing work that contributes to the development of American Indian studies as a field and to the sovereignty and continuance of American Indian nations and cultures. In addition to peer-reviewed articles, AIQ features reviews of books, films, and exhibits. The research is presented in English.
Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics, published by Eesti Rahva Muuseum, founded in 2007 and indexed in its entirety, is a multidisciplinary forum for scholars. Addressed to an international scholarly audience, JEF is open to contributions from researchers all over the world. JEF publishes articles in the research areas of ethnology, folkloristics, museology, cultural and social anthropology. It includes both studies focused on the empirical analysis of particular cases and those more theoretically oriented. The research is presented in English.
Native American and Indigenous Studies, published by the University of Minnesota Press, founded in 2014 and indexed in its entirety beginning in 2018 with Volume 5, Issue 1, publishes interdisciplinary scholarship in international Native American and Indigenous Studies. The journal provides an intellectually rigorous and ethically engaged forum for smart, provocative, and exciting scholarship while drawing on the extraordinary professional expertise of our ever-expanding membership in the process of double-anonymous peer review. NAIS provides a forum to place different kinds of research, intellectual traditions, and knowledge practices in conversation. The research is presented in English.
Shaman: Journal of the International Society for Shamanistic Research, published by Molnar & Kelemen Oriental Publishers, founded in 1993 and indexed in its entirety, is approved as the official publication of the International Society for Academic Research on Shamanism. Shaman is an annual journal (192 pages per volume) of a strictly academic nature. In addition, Shaman publishes reviews of current books, films, videos, and sound recordings, brief accounts of works in progress, and announcements of coming events. The research is presented in English.
Sibirica: Interdisciplinary Journal of Siberian Studies, published by Berghahn Books, founded in 1993 and indexed beginning in 2002, is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal covering all aspects of the region and relations to neighboring areas, such as Central Asia, East Asia, and North America. The journal publishes articles, research reports, conferences, and book reviews on history, politics, economics, geography, cultural studies, anthropology, and environmental studies. It provides a forum for scholars representing a wide variety of disciplines from around the world to present findings and discuss topics of relevance to human activities in the region or directly relevant to Siberian studies. The research is presented in English.
Études mongoles & sibériennes, centrasiatiques & tibétaines published by Centre d’études mongoles et sibériennes, founded in 1970 and indexed beginning in 2001, began as a forum to discuss issues in Mongolian studies and was later expanded to include Siberia, Central Asia, and Tibet. The journal publishes original work by French and foreign researchers: articles, fieldwork, critical observations and accounts, thesis synopses, as well as thematic issues entrusted to guest editors. The research is presented in English and French.
Essay Collections
Indigenous Religion(s): Local Grounds, Global Networks, published by Routledge. This collection sheds light on the contemporary lives of indigenous religion(s), through case studies from Sápmi, Nagaland, Talamanca, Hawai’i, and Gujarat, and through a shared focus on translations, performances, mediation, and sovereignty. It builds on long term case-studies and the collaborative comparison of a long-term project, including shared fieldwork. At the center of its concerns are translations between a globalizing discourse (indigenous religion in the singular) and distinct local traditions (indigenous religions in the plural).
Oxford Handbook of Latinx Christianities in the United States, published by Oxford University Press. This handbook is organized by various themes with the study of US Latina/x/o Christianities. The handbook provides a thorough examination of interlocking themes within the academic study of Latina/x/o Christian histories, sociologies, and anthropologies. It covers the major US Latina/x/o ethnic groups as well as major Christian denominations and movements. Chapters in the handbook attend to important intersectional realities: empire, migration, diaspora, hybridities, borderlands, and gender.
Christianity in Oceania, published by Edinburgh University Press. This volume “offers four angles of analysis” in its approach to Oceania. The first is a demographic comparison of Christian affiliation between 1970 and 2020, broken down by region, country, and ecclesiastic tradition, presented in a series of charts and maps. This is followed by fourteen chapters summarizing the history and contemporary status of Christian churches in twenty-one countries and territories across the region. The third angle of analysis comprises eight essays surveying the presence of “major Christian traditions” as well as the Pacific Conference of Churches, the primary regional ecumenical body based in Fiji. The book is rounded out with eleven thematic chapters, some providing context (e.g., gender, migration, political systems) and others primarily theological.
Essays on American Indian and Mormon History, published by University of Utah Press. This collection of essays, many the result of a seminar hosted by the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University, explores the historical and cultural complexities of this narrative from a decolonizing perspective. Essays cover the historical construction of the “Lamanite,” settler colonialism and the Book of Mormon, and connections between the Seneca leader Handsome Lake and Joseph Smith. The authors also address American Indian Mormon tribal identities, Navajo and Mormon participation at the dedication of Glen Canyon Dam, the impact of Mormon Polynesian missionaries in Diné Bikéyah, the ISPP, and other topics. Prominent American Indian Mormon voices lend their creative work and personal experiences to the book.
Decolonial Christianities: Latinx and Latin American Perspectives, published by Springer. This volume invites distinguished Latinx and Latin American scholars to a conversation that engages the rich theoretical contributions of the decolonial turn while relocating Indigenous, Afro-Latin American, Latinx, and other often marginalized practices and hermeneutical perspectives to the center stage of religious discourse in the Americas. Keeping in mind that all religions―Christianity included―are cultured and avoiding the abstract references to Christianity common to the modern Eurocentric hegemonic project, the contributors favor embodied religious practices that emerge in concrete contexts and communities.
Full Text Titles in Atlas
Latin American Indian Literatures Journal (ceased title), published by Penn State Greater Allegheny, publishes texts of and studies about Latin American Indian literature, including Mesoamerican pictorial manuscripts and rock art, book reviews, and bibliography. The research is presented in English.
View this full text in AtlaSerials® (Atlas®).
Full Text Titles in Atlas PLUS
International Journal of Latin American Religions, published by Springer, presents research articles, interviews, conference reports, and book reviews that contribute to the scientific study of the history and present situation of Latin American religions, both in the region and among Latin American minorities in other parts of the world. Offering a multidisciplinary perspective, the journal presents contributions in many areas of the human sciences, including sociology, history, psychology, anthropology, and comparative religion. The research is presented in English.
Journal of NAIITS: an Indigenous Learning Community, published by the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies, is an annual publication of the NAIITS symposia proceedings. As such, each volume’s focus centers around the topic of the previous year’s symposia which occur in North America and Australia. It centers on an Indigenous engagement with the person, work, life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus rooted in Indigenous cultures, values, and histories. It does so by investigating spiritual beliefs and practices of faith through both scholarly and practical work in theology, biblical studies, and intercultural and community development studies.
View full texts in AtlaSerials PLUS® (Atlas PLUS®).
We will continue in our efforts to improve the inclusivity and diversity of our research tools and we welcome any suggestions that will assist us in this initiative.
We also invite you to suggest content (including journal titles and essay collections) for inclusion in our research tools. For more information on how content is evaluated and to learn how to recommend a title for inclusion in Atla’s research tools: https://www.atla.com/for-publishers/evaluation-rdb/
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