CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
The D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies invites graduate students within the Newberry Consortium for American Indian and Indigenous Studies (NCAIS) to submit proposals for individual papers in any academic field relating to American Indian and Indigenous Studies.
To propose a paper, please submit a title and a 250-word abstract of your paper and a short bio by October 10, 2025 using this Google Form. All accepted presenters will be notified by November 2025.
The NCAIS Graduate Conference is a unique opportunity to present your work to and network with other students and faculty in the consortium. One student from each NCAIS member institution will be eligible for up to $700 of reimbursement toward their travel expenses (including hotel, flight, train, or driving/parking). If there is leftover travel funding available, it will be used to lessen the travel costs of other graduate students.
The 2026 NCAIS Graduate Conference will coincide with the second part of the 2025-2026 Indigenous Crossings workshop, which will take place at the Newberry Library from February 6-7, 2026. Co-sponsored by the Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University, this workshop aims to anchor visions of the past and future into a deeper planetary archive, one linked to Native nations and Indigenous communities and their historical border crossings worldwide.
While not a requirement for application, those interested in borderland studies and global Indigenous studies may be particularly interested in applying to the 2026 NCAIS Graduate Conference.
If you have any questions related to the conference or would like to receive announcements and updates about NCAIS programs through the NCAIS mailing list, please send an email request to McNickle Center Program Coordinator Sarah Jimenez at mcnickle@newberry.org.