Thrivance

The deadline for the first open themed submissions will be April 30th, 2021

Editor: Jacqueline Ottmann
President, First Nations University of Canada

Editorial Board Terms of Reference

Journal Purpose This international scholarly peer-reviewed journal seeks to engage in multi- cross- inter-disciplinary dialogue that uplifts Indigenous communities, nations or individuals, and critically examines topics that are relevant to Indigenous peoples. The aim of the journal is to promote Indigenous scholarship – Indigenous ontologies, epistemologies, worldviews, theories, philosophies, methodologies, pedagogies, perspectives, practices, experiences, stories, and artistic expressions of cultural resurgence and reclamation, and decolonization. Submissions are encouraged by Indigenous scholars, researchers and practitioners. Indigenous ‘first’ authorship will be prioritized.

Editorial Board: Purpose and Objectives The Editorial Board is a working board and constitutes a team of prominent, respected and emerging Indigenous scholars, researchers and experts in the field. The volunteer editorial board will provide scholarly and expert advice, input, oversight, promotion, ambassadorship, general support, and generate membership and submissions to the Journal. Furthermore, the editorial board members will review submitted manuscripts, seek peer-reviewers, advise on journal policy and scope, identify themes for special issues, will work at ensuring that plagiarism does not occur in the journal, and identify relevant conferences for the journal to be promoted.

Publication Process

• Two issues per year, Spring and Fall: themed then open progression.
• Ideally, each publication will have one to two articles designated for Indigenous graduate students. 

Types of Submissions:

• Research – an article based on original primary research.  Articles should be no shorter than 3,500 words and no longer than 7,500.
• Policy – an article to assess existing policies or programs and/or proposing new policies or programs.  It is not expected that the author(s) conducts original research. However, authors should demonstrate a grasp of current research in the area.  Articles should be no shorter than 3,500 words and no longer than 7,500 words.
• Commentaries – Allows scholars the opportunity to discuss issues that arise within Indigenous lives.  Commentaries should contribute to an academic discourse. Pieces should not be any longer than 2000 words.
• Research Notes – Articles that provide some insight to a research project.  The research project could be in process or have been completed.  These pieces are short between 1300 and 2500 words.  The pieces can discuss methodological issues or present a discussion of some aspects of the data form the research. For example, a photo essay based on photographs from a historical research project.
• Book reviews – Scholarly assessment of the most recent academic books.  Book reviews should be between 750 and 1000 words in length. 
• Artistic expressions – Special editions will be devoted to Indigenous artistic works and may be included in regular publications.

Peer Review Process:

• Once an article is submitted, it will be assessed for suitability and formatting by the thrivance Editorial Board. 
• The Editorial Board will confirm receipt of a submission and is committed to completing the initial peer review process within eight weeks from confirming receipt. The review process may take longer for special issues.
• Authors will normally be informed within two weeks if their article is rejected without review.
• Research articles accepted for review will be sent to two reviewers.
• thrivance uses a double-blind review process, which means that reviewers will not receive any information about the author(s) of the article.
• Policy articles are subject to expedited review by one or more reviewers.
• Editorials and book reviews will be reviewed by the Editorial Board.
• Once the article has been peer-reviewed, the submitting author will receive an email from one of the Journal editors informing him or her of the results of the editorial review.
• If the author is asked to revise and resubmit the article, the revised version can be resubmitted to:  thrivance_editor@ipsonet.org.
• If an article is accepted for publication, it will be published on the Journal website once the Journal Publishing Agreement has been accepted by the author(s) and the article has been copyedited.

Responsibilities of Reviewers: By agreeing to review a manuscript, Reviewers agree to:

• Provide a detailed written report to the editors and author(s) that outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the submission, as well as recommended revisions. The Reviewer’s report will recommend to the editors as to whether the submission requires no revision, minor revision, major revision, or should be rejected, and the Reviewer will provide justification for the recommendation. Unconstructive criticism or personal criticism of the author(s) is not appropriate.  
• Promptly bring evidence of misconduct to the editors’ attention.
• Inform the editors if he or she is unable to carry out his or her duties as a reviewer. Reasons include, but are not limited to, being unqualified to provide a review, being unable to provide an objective assessment due to a conflict of interest or because the author’s identity has become known to the Reviewer, or being unable to complete the review in the timeframe required.
• Submit the review to the editors within the agreed upon timeframe.
• Keep submissions under review in confidence. Reviewers acknowledge that no unpublished material from a submission may be used without the express permission of the author(s).
• Reviewers will be Indigenous only and are to be respectful and supportive in carrying out the review process.

Authorship Indigenous authors will be prioritized.

Indigenous authors will be first considered for publication. It is important at this stage of reconciliation and decolonization, however, to operate from a capacity-building model or framework. It is untenable to invite an Indigenous academic to be included as an author if there was minimal involvement as this is a dangerous form of tokenism that provides no benefit of a true process of engagement or for Indigenous knowledge to be present. The building of relationships and partnerships should be engaged early on a project before any publication process is attempted. 

A paper will not be considered if it has been sole-authored by a non-Indigenous scholar even with an Indigenous aspect or focus to it. That hides the intellectual imprint of Indigenous communities on the research process. In the spirit of knowledge co-creation, Indigenous community members that have contributed in a project must be in the acknowledgments if they are not directly linked to the authorship of the paper, including at the very least one or two individuals who were the main contact or were significant organizational points. There are many diverse Indigenous voices within communities and partnerships with these voices should be reflected.

Contributing authors must have given permission to publish and have made a substantial contribution as a requisite to author acknowledgment. Authorship contributions should involve a combination of who did the writing, and who put a strong intellectual “fingerprint” on the project, which could include research and knowledge sharing input. Since all Indigenous research should be done in a good way by involving Indigenous input, even if the person did not participate in the writing, it is appropriate to list them as an author if there was a contribution of significant ideas and/or participation in a planning role.

Academic journaling in the end is about creating relationships, and the authorship of a product should have a reflection of the relationships that have been built throughout all stages of a final paper. Different disciplines have different metrics and meanings associated with author placement. It is crucial in the consideration of a paper submission, however, that anyone that has contributed to the process should be reflected in the acknowledgment portion. This implies that Indigenous community members or academics at various levels should be invited in and given the space and opportunity to contribute to the different aspects of a project.

Journal Themes/Topics:

• Exploring Indigeneity
• Research and policy: Intellectual Property: data sovereignty, copyright; ethics; community engagement; 
• Land- place-based learning (Land as first teacher – philosophical and practices of research, applications…praxis); Art-based learning – “science and art are two sides of the same coin” Cajete), creativity as spirit. 
• Beyond Reconciliation: deconstructing/challenging (or supporting) the term and ideas behind ‘reconciliation.’ Are there healthier or ‘more-Indigenous,’ ways of envisioning the future of North American society, relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples?