Call for Papers: Indigenous Perspectives on Living with Sacred Heritage (2017)

This volume builds upon the growing literature on sacred sites management represented by works such as Elazar Barkan and Karen Barkley’s Choreographies of Shared Sacred Site; David Carmichael, Jane Hubert, Brian Reeves, and Audhild Schanche’s Sacred Sites, Sacred Places; Gloria Pungetti, Gonzalo Oviedo, and Della Hooke’s Sacred Species and Sites; and Bas Verschuuren, Jeffrey McNeely, Gonzalo Oviedo, and Robert Wild’s Sacred Natural Sites. The goal is to facilitate greater self-expression of indigenous perspectives regarding treatment of the sacred. This volume adds to the existing sacred sites literature by focusing on historically marginalized voices of indigenous peoples.

This volume looks to the notion of a sacred site as something defined by its indigenous custodians. As such, sacred sites can be natural or human-made, can be situated in any geographic location, can be closed or open to non-indigenous visitors, and can exist inside or outside of international or national designations such as protected areas or conservation zones. The primary interest of the volume is to provide a platform for indigenous custodians to explain how they view and treat the sacred through a written account that is available to a global audience.

The proposed volume seeks contributions that provide examples of indigenous sacred sites governance and management, with each example treated as a separate chapter. The goal is to highlight indigenous approaches and present concerns regarding sacred sites management. The preference is to encourage indigenous authors, particularly indigenous custodians of sacred sites, but we invite all voices that further the goals of the proposed volume. We welcome joint authorship, especially those involving indigenous custodians. Contributions should consist of papers capable of being chapters in the volume, with each contribution addressing all of the following elements:

1. Description of the indigenous sacred site and its significance to its indigenous custodians,
2. Presentation of the indigenous management or governance system used by indigenous custodians over the sacred site, and
3. Discussion of the major concerns held by indigenous custodians about their management over the sacred site.