We are excited to share information about an upcoming conference taking place in 2026 in Toronto, Ontario! The CLCS Nordic Forum at the 2026 MLA Convention is inviting abstracts on the theme “Kinships and Relations in Global/Nordic Indigenous-Settler Spaces" due on Monday March 17, 2025.

This forum exists in relation to this particular neoimperialist moment of renewed U.S. interest in militaristic colonization: “taking over” sovereign Kalaallit lands, forcibly “relocating” Palestinians, and “annexing” the settler-colonial nation of Canada.Given the rise of neoimperialist and colonial ambitions, and the MLA 2026 presidential theme, “Family Resemblances,” this panel solicits paper proposals that explore, theorize, and connect notions of kinship and relationality, particularly as they exist across the Indigenous-settler divide. What divides Indigenous and settler notions of kinship? What tensions emerge within relations, as Indigenous people and settlers work together toward shared goals? What promises does the notion of kinship have in moving beyond virtue signaling, and actually mounting resistance against a rising autocratic world order, or creating a more just, equitable, and sustainable world?

They particularly welcome papers involving Nordic colonialisms, kinship, and coming into relations in Norden (including Greenland and Sápmi) and abroad (including on Turtle Island)—especially as they are impacted by other neoimperialist efforts of our current moment.