UNC Press Awarded Mellon Grant for Indigenous-Studies Series

The University of North Carolina Press is proud to announce that it is part of a $1-Million grant to establish a collaborative publishing program dedicated to indigenous studies.

The grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation teams the UNC Press with the University of Arizona Press, the University of Minnesota Press, and Oregon State University Press.

Mark Simpson-Vos, an acquisitions editor at UNC Press who has worked closely with the project, describes the synergistic goals of the project thusly:

There’s a real push now among scholars, indigenous people, policy makers, and others to create a discourse that crosses national and disciplinary boundaries. This grant from the Mellon Foundation comes in recognition of these developments and is meant to support our work as publishers to follow the field as it continues to evolve, publishing the best work and ensuring that it reaches its intended audience–an audience that… is increasingly international and multidisciplinary.”

All four university presses will work together to bring new light to the growing field of indigenous studies, reflecting a growing interest among U.S. and international scholars in “Native American” histories, cultures, political sovereignty, and experiences with colonization and decolonization are understood and shared as well as the value of traditional knowledge, and ethnic identity.

The presses will use the grant money to attract scholars in this field and assist them with research and travel. As well, the presses will assist with crafting manuscripts that will reach the broadest audience through new marketing and promotion.

Our official press release can be viewed here.

— Tom