Indigenous Religious Traditions Unit
The Indigenous Religious Traditions Unit (IRTU) strives to create a collegial environment that upholds the values of the AAR (academic excellence, professional responsibility, free inquiry, critical examination, diversity, inclusion, respect, and transparency) within the academic study of religion and in the work of the Academy. In line with these values, the IRTU is committed to diversity and inclusivity, as reflected in pre-arranged panels that reflect gender and racial/ethnic diversity, as well as diversity of field, method, and scholarly rank, as appropriate.
The IRTU invites roundtable, paper, and panel proposals regardless of fitting a specific call, highlighting any concerns about Indigenous rights, the preservation of Indigenous languages and traditions, food sovereignty, rematriation, White supremacist blood and soil ideologies, and any other topics around the restoration of ownership to traditional Indigenous communities, Indigenous futurism and settler futures in terms of reparations, etc. We especially encourage proposals that explore the movement's broad perspective on restitution, decoloniality, and the protection of traditions, lands, ecosystems, and relations.
For the AAR 2026 in Denver, CO, the IRTU particularly welcomes Indigenous roundtable, paper, and panel proposals relating to the AAR’s 2026 presidential theme “Futures” within any of the topics above and the following in specific:
- Academic and institutional futures: threats in terms of programs for faculty, research, and collaboration on topics related to Indigenous Religious Traditions or with Indigenous collaborators.
- Presents and futures of Indigenous religious and spiritual practices during the current state of immigration violence, safety, and sanctuary.
- Societal change and protection of the vulnerable in human and more-than-human populations.
- Indigenous futurisms.
- Indigenous religious traditions in the digital age.
- Indigenous media.
- Indigenous Peoples and AI.
- Present and future safety in the Academy: Reckoning with faculty precarity and institutional responsibility, working ethically with Indigenous faculty, staff, and students.
- The meaning, methods, politics, and economics of the extraction of Indigenous heritage in the study of religion.
- The futures of the Indigenous movement in the face of environmental change amid climate emergencies.
- The "Author Meets Critic Series" invites books published in the last three years that are relevant to the study of Indigenous Religious Traditions.
Co-sponsorships
We aim to collaborate with other Units to broaden our reach and strengthen bonds of inquiry and practice. We invite the establishment of additional co-sponsoring relationships.
- Religion and Ecology Unit
- African Religions Unit
- African Diaspora Religions Unit
- Contemplative Studies Unit
- Animals and Religion Unit
- Religion and Human Rights Unit
We at the IRTU are looking forward to reading your proposals!
Method of Submission: PAPERS
The Indigenous Religious Traditions Unit (IRTU) strives to create a collegial environment that upholds the values of the AAR (academic excellence, professional responsibility, free inquiry, critical examination, diversity, inclusion, respect, and transparency) within the academic study of religion and in the work of the Academy. In line with these values, the IRTU is committed to diversity and inclusivity, as reflected in pre-arranged panels that reflect gender and racial/ethnic diversity, as well as diversity of field, method, and scholarly rank, as appropriate.
The IRTU welcomes theoretical, methodological, and conceptual proposals on the study of Indigenous religious traditions worldwide. We are concerned with the interface of Indigenous religious traditions and modernity, colonial and postcolonial conditions, and local and global forces that shape the practice of Indigenous traditions and their categorizations. Though particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches to the study of Indigenous religions, we are primarily grounded in the “history of religions” approach in our analysis of Indigenous traditions.
At the IRTU, we emphasize Indigenous methodologies among other humanities and social sciences approaches. We strive for increasingly global perspectives with representation of Indigenous Peoples and traditions from all continents. Similarly, we aspire to include other, more innovative and less conventional modes of scholarship, enhancing our inclusion of creative, embodied, virtual, digital, and public-facing work.
Purpose of the Indigenous Religious Traditions Unit:
The Indigenous Religious Traditions Unit sponsors conversations about the field at thematic, theoretical, definitional, experimental, or historiographical levels to inquire into the past, present, and futures of Indigenous religious and spiritual traditions. Such conversations embrace the diversity of scholars, disciplines, methods, and traditions that make up the field.
Composition and Routine functions:
The leadership of the IRTU comprises nine members: two co-chairs and seven steering committee members. The co-chairs compose the Call for Proposals for sessions for the AAR Annual Meeting, review and report on sessions, and communicate with the IRTU constituency. The full Steering Committee reviews, shapes, and accepts proposals for those sessions.
The current SC members elect incoming Steering Committee members. Each term is three years, renewable for a second three years if everyone is amenable. The terms are staggered to ensure continuity and change on the committee. A member elected to serve as co-chair must have at least one full year of experience on the Steering Committee. The co-chair elections are staggered as well, so that each new co-chair serves with an experienced co-chair.
Responsibilities:
The co-chairs handle IRTU's business and moderate the Steering Committee's communication. All members of the Steering Committee make decisions on substantive matters. All SC members must attend the Annual Meeting and reserve time to meet in person for socializing, envisioning, and the Unit's business. All SC members must attend the Business Meeting.
Succession:
The following procedure governs the replacement of members of the Steering Committee. After the Annual Meeting, when a vacancy occurs, the co-chairs ask the IRTU constituency (via email) for nominations. From among the nominees, the Steering Committee votes to elect a new member.
The co-chairs maintain this IRTU Purpose, Practices & Procedures document, which is available to the Steering Committee and can be revised as needed.