CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
We invite writers, artists, and translators from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds to contribute their work.
You may submit your poetry, prose, art, and translations to our special biannual issues or contribute to Pensieri, our blog, by subscribing to our newsletter.
Issue 14 Indigenous Language Revitalization Through Artistic Expression
A special collaboration between The Polyglot and Supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization (SILR)
Call for Submissions
The Polyglot Issue 14 — Indigenous Language Revitalization through Artistic Expression
In celebration of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL: 2022-2032), The Polyglot is proud to partner with Supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization (SILR) at the University of Alberta to present Issue 14, dedicated to showcasing visual and literary works that engage with and weave Indigenous languages into creative expression.
This issue seeks to amplify the voices of Indigenous Language Speakers and Learners of Turtle Island by offering a platform for artistic exploration and connection to language. Whether you are fluent or just beginning to reconnect with your Indigenous language(s), we welcome submissions from anyone interested in strengthening their relationship to their Indigenous language(s) through artistic expression.
As part of this project, The Polyglot and SILR hosted two workshops in July 2024, led by artists Lana Whiskeyjack and Anna Marie Sewell, focused on painting and poetry. These workshops were designed to create opportunities for participants to connect with their Indigenous languages through the arts, recognizing the arts as a powerful avenue for language learning, reconnection, and cultural resurgence.
We invite creators at all linguistic levels—from those taking their first steps in Indigenous language reclamation to fluent speakers—to share their reflections, experiences, and artistic expressions related to Indigenous language revitalization. Your insights, experiences, and creative responses to language revitalization are invaluable.
Deadline: September 30, 2024.
Honorarium: $100 CAD + 1 print copy of the issue
Open to: Indigenous contributors of Turtle Island (North America).
Launch: December 2024. Writers and artists based in Edmonton, Alberta, will be invited to the in-person launch event in the city.
Guest Editors: Lana Whiskeyjack and Anna Marie Sewell
Submission Guidelines
Number of Submissions: You may submit up to 3 pieces total. This can include a combination of literary and visual works.
Literary Submissions: Submissions can be entirely in Indigenous languages, a blend of Indigenous and other languages, or even in non-Indigenous languages that explore your connection to your Indigenous language(s). All linguistic levels are encouraged to submit—whether you’re fluent, reconnecting, or exploring your Indigenous language for the first time. We invite you to share your reflections on language reclamation, cultural resurgence, or any other themes that inspire you through your writing. Whether or not to provide a translation is entirely up to you. We invite you to offer as many points of entry into your work as you feel appropriate, whether that’s through language translations, complementary visuals, or reflections in your artist statement.
Art Submissions: We welcome 1-3 artworks across various media, including photography, drawing, painting, digital art, sculpture, video, music, dance, weaving, and traditional art forms. For visual art, please submit high-resolution JPEG or PNG files. For video or music submissions, please submit MP3 or MP4 files.
Cover Submissions: If you wish to submit cover art, please indicate that in your submission. No artist statement is required for cover art submissions.
Artist Statement: To accompany your submissions, we request a short artist statement (200-300 words) reflecting on your creative process, language use, or themes of reclamation and revitalization that guided your work. Examples of artist statements can be found in past issues of The Polyglot (www.thepolyglotmagazine.com).
Biography: Please provide a brief biography (100-200 words). Please include which nation(s) or community(ies) you belong to, in whatever form is appropriate to you, along with any social media profiles you would like to share.
Guest Editors
Lana Whiskeyjack
Lana Whiskeyjack is a nêhiyaw (Cree) visual storyteller, scholartist and educator from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, who now calls amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) her home. As an associate professor in the department of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Alberta, Lana's academic work is complemented by her role as co-owner and curator of Whiskeyjack Art House. Her art is a powerful reflection of her cultural heritage, lived experiences, and advocacy for Indigenous representation and rights.
Her scholarship is grounded within nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) and nêhiyaw ways of being and knowing. Her current collaborative research explores gender and sexual diversity, rites of passage, rematriation, kinship systems (wahkohtowin) and health and wellness.
Anna Marie Sewell
Anna Marie Sewell is an award-winning multi-genre writer and performer of Mi’gmaq/Anishinaabe/Polish descent living in Edmonton, Canada. Her artistic practice centres collaborative projects at the intersections of culture, language, and modality, including Ancestors & Elders, Reconciling Edmonton (which featured the first ever Round Dance at Edmonton's City Hall), Braidings, Honour Songs, Heart of the Flower, Big Sky Theatre (theatre with urban Indigenous youth), and The PoemCatcher public art installation. A founding member of the Stroll of Poets, she has served as Edmonton's 4th Poet Laureate (2011-2013) and MacEwan University's 2019/20 Writer in Residence.
Connect to Anna Marie Sewell’s written work through prairiepomes.com, via her poetry collections Fifth World Drum (Frontenac House, 2009) and For the Changing Moon: Poems & Songs (Thistledown Press, 2018), via her debut novel, Humane (Stonehouse Publising, 2020), or the sequel, Urbane (Stonehouse Publishing, 2023). Anna Marie was published in The Polyglot’s Issue 3, CanLit: Curating our Canons, and Issue 6: nimitêyaniy.
About SILR
In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action, the Supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization (SILR) project at the University of Alberta aims to support Indigenous language sovereignty through community-led initiatives that protect, preserve, promote, revitalize, transfer, strengthen, and sustain languages.
SILR envisions a future where Indigenous languages in Canada are healthy, vibrant, and widely used across generations and in various domains such as homes, schools, workplaces, and on the land. This vision is supported by integrating appropriate language revitalization approaches and tools into community and educational policies and practices.
Enhance Your Submission with Editorial Feedback
Your work deserves to be read, so we do not charge a submission or reading fee. We offer the option of receiving feedback on your work from a member of The Polyglot’s editorial team for $10 CAD. You can access this opportunity using the button below.
