It’s #ThrowbackThursday! The Editors’ Weekly archives (and the archives of our sister blogs!) are a treasure trove of valuable advice and insight. In this series we highlight some of our favourite gems from the past.
This week, we’re participating in a special crossover event with our sister blogs West Coast Editor and BoldFace. West Coast Editor is featuring a throwback article from BoldFace and BoldFace is featuring a throwback article from The Editors’ Weekly.
We are pleased to be featuring “In Conversation with Rhonda Kronyk: Exploring Indigenous Editing Goals, Influences, and Best Practices” from West Coast Editor. In this thought-provoking conversation from 2024, Rhonda Kronyk shares the goals and initiatives of the Indigenous Editors Association, her unique approach to editing (shaped by her cultural background) and best practices for editing content related to Indigenous Peoples. She kindly provided the following update on the progress she’s seen since the article was first published.
An update from the author
A lot has happened since my interview two years ago. I think the biggest change has been in the “nothing about us without us” aspect of our industry.
The Indigenous Editors Association (IEA) is helping build capacity across the industry. The Indigenous Professionals Directory makes Indigenous expertise more visible and helps publishers connect with an expanding network of Indigenous professionals. The IEA is also investing in what comes next. Through the new Four Directions Professional Development Program, Indigenous editors can access culturally relevant training, mentorship, community and learning — building the skills, relationships and experience needed to take on more roles throughout the publishing process.
Historically, publishers shut Indigenous Peoples out of their own stories. Greg Younging and the many others who created the framework of the Indigenous Editors Association profoundly changed those attitudes, paving the way for Indigenous editors to take their place in the industry. Even in the last two years, I’ve seen progress.
First, there are more Indigenous editors, and many independent and university publishers are thoughtfully pairing them with manuscripts by Indigenous authors.
A big driver of this change is the IEA’s Indigenous Professionals Directory. By listing members’ cultural affiliations and work, it helps authors and publishers find the right Indigenous publishing professionals.
Publishers are also more aware of the importance of Knowledge Holders and Elders in collaborative work. Their guidance ensures that communities, not just individual authors, have a voice in how their knowledge and stories are shared.
If publishers keep making changes like these, we’ll see even more of the incredible stories Indigenous authors have always told on Turtle Island.
My thanks to Kaitlin Littlechild for providing the IEA update.
Read the original post here.
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Previous post from Rhonda Kronyk: Indigenous Editors Circle: Connecting, Collaborating and Celebrating Indigenous Stories
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Rhonda Kronyk
Rhonda Kronyk (she/her) is a settler/Tsay Keh Dene research, writing and editing consultant. She is a founding member of the Indigenous Editors Association (IEA), and since 2018, Rhonda has been educating editors, writers, publishers and students on how to work with stories about Indigenous Peoples. She is the owner of Rhonda Kronyk Literary Services.