In January 2009, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded four university presses a collaborative grant that established an innovative partnership. The grant supports the publication of 40 books over four years and will create the means for the presses to collaborate in their mission of furthering scholarly communication in the field of Indigenous studies. Our publishing initiative seeks the best and most robust scholarship by junior authors whose publications will contribute to the development of the field.

The initiative aims to demonstrate the ways Indigenous traditional and lived experiences contribute to and reframe discourses on the history, culture, identity and rights of Indigenous peoples worldwide. Indigenous studies encompasses scholarship on more than 370 million people from more than seventy countries. The field reflects and reinforces a dynamic international movement that is playing a vital role in nations across the globe. World-wide, the field of Indigenous studies is being defined by focusing on core concepts, including indigeneity, sovereignty, and traditional knowledge.

Outstanding scholarship lies at the core of our collaboration. Our collaborating presses support the field of Indigenous studies through four core objectives:

• Engagement: We have come together to achieve the common goal of supporting the expanding field of Indigenous studies. From conference participation through manuscript development, the First Peoples publishing initiative seeks to engage fully in the production of scholarly knowledge.
• Counsel: The initiative supports intellectual continuity between established scholars and emerging ones by building upon the existing scholarly community and using it to foster new opportunities for counsel and mentorship. The First Peoples publishing initiative offers small grants for junior scholars selected to participate. These grants may be used to support additional research, manuscript development, and to fund consultation with publishing professionals and senior scholars in the field.
• Community: Books by senior scholars and junior scholars will benefit from a wide-reaching and dynamic marketing campaign. We seek new ways to bring scholarship in the field of Indigenous studies to a wide audience, making connections between publishers, scholars, and communities.
• Dialogue: Our publishing initiative will support the expansion of the field of Indigenous studies with unprecedented attention and resources to develop the growing dialogue between Native and non-Native scholars, community members, and publishers.