The Global Far North: Planning Indigenization Efforts in Medieval Studies

Abstract:This essay describes a plan for Indigenizing medieval studies that has two elements. The first is an area of research inquiry, “The Global Far North, 500–1500 CE,” which moves past the written records of the Vinland sagas to privilege alternative forms of evidence about cultural contact in the defined period, particularly the oral traditional evidence of Indigenous communities. The project’s investigations will apply the emerging protocols for research ethics and for reciprocity with Indigenous communities, and they will aim to historicize and challenge settler notions of legality that rely on written documents. The essay concludes by arguing that teaching, service, and community outreach must be prioritized over publication as modes of professional activity more conducive to Indigenization’s political goals. Decolonizing medieval studies will require not only that we engage with Indigenous communities but also that we actively center their concerns and contributions at every step.