À propos de cette revue

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Journal History

A brief history of the Journal of Indigenous Social Development (JISD)

On June 4-7th, 2007, after a year of preparation with community elders and interdisciplinary partners, the University of Hawai`i, Myron B. Thompson, School of Social Work convened the first International Indigenous Voices in Social Work (IIVSW): Not Lost in Translation Conference in Makaha, Hawai`i, on the island of `Oahu.  The conference brought together over 400 participants from Africa, Australia, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Hawai`i’s diverse population. 

As a result of participants’ enthusiastic response, conference presenters were invited to submit publishable papers for peer-review.  The Journal of Indigenous Voices in Social Work (JIVSW), an open-access, electronic publication, released its first issue in February 2010. 

JIVSW was envisioned as part of a larger process and continuum intended to bring to light new paradigms and conceptions of social welfare practice and research. The new journal represented hopes and expectations that social work was coming to terms with the non-viability of western social work practices across cultures, and the need to find or develop fundamentally different approaches to human healing and wellbeing. 

During the first and second year of publication, manuscript submissions revealed the need for a publication, which explores and examines the complex nature of Indigenous wellbeing.  For example, the interactions between resource restoration, land, water, cultural knowledge and ways, in relation to emotional, social, spiritual, and physical wellbeing outcomes. Therefore, after considerable discussion, the editorial group and community partners changed JIVSW’s name to the Journal of Indigenous Social Development (JISD), to allow for more inclusivity of areas contributing to the wellbeing of indigenous populations.

JISD is deeply grateful to Sally Lampson Kanehe, alumnus of the University of Hawai`i, Myron B. Thompson, School of Social Work.  Her generous support and commitment to the wellbeing of Indigenous people made this publication possible. 

In 2016, following a year of preparation, JISD successfully transitioned from the University of Hawai`i to the University of Manitoba. In 2019, the journal was moved again to the University of Calgary.

 

Our Mission

The Journal of Indigenous Social Development (JISD) is dedicated to weaving together a new paradigm for improving and expanding practice and knowledge relevant to Indigenous peoples’ social, cultural, economic and environmental wellbeing worldwide. Western systems have brought us to a threshold of collapse and new paradigms are critical to reversing damages brought to Earth and humanity. Such paradigms draw from ancestral knowledges, an ecology of adaptability and post-traumatic resilience, environmental kinship and spirituality, sustainable economies, collectivity and beloved communities, and Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogics.

JISD is a platform for storytelling about:  

  • Deeper understandings of diverse Indigenous peoples’ life ways, nature intelligences, ancestral knowledges, original instructions, values and ethics as sources of strength and resilience.
  • Social development as (re)creation, resurgence and transformative change, strengthening and (re)empowering Indigenous nations, communities, families and individuals.
  • Reclamation of effective traditional and promising contemporary practices for moving beyond trauma-infused environments, laws, and institutions, towards wellness, balance, and living the ‘good life’.
  • Critical analyses of power and influence to eliminate social barriers, oppression and racism directed toward Indigenous peoples.
  • Indigenous and Western research, and the blending of research methods and technologies, in the service of increasing Indigenous peoples’ wellbeing in all areas of life.

JISD welcomes research and creative contributions from the arts, business, education, government, health care, policy, science, social welfare, technology and other related areas.  


Call for Submissions
Submissions considered for review must address the JISD mission within broadly defined areas such as:

• Family, organizational, community, or governance practices;
• Community, social, economic, and environmental development or sustainability;
• Analysis of local, national or international policies;
• Research related to social, economic, and environmental wellbeing.