a woman wearing traditional Native American headdress seen from behind in a row with other people

NSILC

The 6th RIVAS Conference 2026

RIVAS conferences are held to support and raise public awareness of Indigenous academics and speakers whose cultures have helped shape studies in anthropology, archeology, art, education, film, history, linguistics, literature, and sociology. In acknowledgment of the contributions of Indigenous Peoples globally, people are invited to submit an abstract for a paper, or register to attend.  Questions about abstract submissions can be emailed to: neyooxet.greymorning@mso.umt.edu

To submit an abstract and/or register to attend, fill out the Submission Form.

For a sharable flyer showing conference site and accommodation click 2026 RIVAS Announcement,

Keynote Speakers

Principal Sachem Dr. Ronald Yonaguska Holloway of FANA (Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas). Powers of Dreaming: The Birth of a Confederation

 

University of Montana Regents Professor Anna Prentiss: The Bridge River Archaeological Project: Lessons and Accomplishments from a 20-year Indigenous Nation and University Collaborative Partnership

 The RIVAS conferences aim to provide and promote: 

  1. a venue for the exchange of ideas and constructive debate,
  2. a platform for rising Indigenous scholars to present their work and connect with a wider scholarly network, 

  3. Indigenous points of view on current local and global phenomena, histories, and issues,

  4. discuss about and raise awareness on positive trends and obstacles that still hamper the participation of Indigenous scholars within an arena of global academic discourse,
  5. 
the exploration of past, present and future Indigenous experiences in both academic and non-academic contexts.

Times for open discussions with speakers constitute a fundamental component of the conference and will be made available to the public at specified times each day during the conference.

For questions about the history of the conference or the reason the conference was created contact neyooxet.greymorning@mso.umt.edu

For information on the work of the Indigenous federal nonprofit Host NSILC, see the NSILC Homepage

Links for the Australian 2025 RIVAS Conference Program. Acknowledgements pgs.1-2, About the Founder-Keynote Speakrs-plus Abstracts pgs 3-5, About the Speakers pgs. 6-10, Speakers Abstracts pgs. 11-16, Speakers Presentation Times pgs 17-19, 

Links for 2024 RIVAS Conference Program. Acknowledgements pgs. 1-2,  About-Organizerer-Keynote Speakers-plus Abstracts-pgs. 3-5.pdf, About the Speakers pgs. 6-10.pdf,  Speaker Abstracts pgs. 11-16,  Speaker Presentation Times pgs. 17-19, 

Links for the 2023 RIVAS Conference Information; and 2023 RIVAS Conference Program Links: About the Founder, Key Speakers and Abstracts, Speaker Bios, Speaker Abstracts, Speaker Presentation Schedule 

2022 RIVAS Conference.  Links for the 2022 Conference Program: Acknowledgements pgs1-3, Key Speakers pgs4-5, Abstracts pgs6-13, Bios pgs14-18, Bios pgs19-23, Speakers Schedule pgs 24-26, U Maine Speakers Schedule pg 27, Al-Quds Open University Palestine English booklet pgs 28-57, 

Link for the 2021 program: RIVA 2021 Conference Program

Link to videos of speaker's presentations for years 2021 to 2024:     https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOHw8FJCAFzvq6NtbttoNnw/videos