ABSTRACT
There can be little doubt that the creation of NAISA has exerted a fundamental and positive impact on the intellectual growth of Indigenous Studies as a discipline, drawing thousands of predominantly Indigenous scholars from across the globe to its annual meetings. What is less clear, however, is whether NAISA’s intellectual growth, particularly in North America, has been matched by an equally robust institutional growth in the discipline. In these contexts, the chapter is laid out in three parts. Beginning with a discussion of the intellectual growth of Indigenous Studies in the NAISA era, the chapter then charts the evolution of Indigenous Studies’ institutional growth in North America. Following this, it maps out the contours of how Indigenous Studies units can (continue to) orient ourselves in the future in light of NAISA’s powerful presence, concluding with two practical suggestions for how Indigenous Studies programmes, centres, institutes, departments, and faculties can make pragmatic use of NAISA’s annual meetings as an opportunity for more formal relationship building for our faculty, staff, and students.
