Call for Abstracts

A logo with a stylized turtle in yellow, blue, and black colors featuring a tree design. Below reads TIISC 2026

The Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference at the University of Waterloo invites scholars, knowledge keepers, community leaders, and innovators to share work at the intersections of Indigeneity and science. Rooted in the theme of Indigenous Innovations, the conference highlights the creativity, resilience, and leadership of Indigenous communities in shaping sustainable and just futures. 

Abstracts and posters are welcomed across four interdisciplinary streams: 

  1. Indigenous Futures
  2. Knowledge Sovereignty and Research Ethics 
  3. Climate, Land, and Water 
  4. Revitalizing Traditional Knowledge Systems 

​​​​​​​Together, these streams create space for dialogue, collaboration, and the celebration of Indigenous ways of knowing and doing science.  

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, land that was promised to the Haudenosaunee of the Six Nations of the Grand River in 1784. This tract encompasses six miles on either side of the Grand River, which the Haudenosaunee call O:se Kenhionhata:tie, the “Willow River.” The Haldimand Tract is part of a living history of stewardship, responsibility, and ongoing struggles for land rights. We recognize the host nations of Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit River, and affirm our responsibility to uphold the spirit of the Dish With One Spoon wampum belt agreement, which calls for sharing the land and its resources in peace and reciprocity. 

Submission Guidelines

Please submit an abstract proposal using the submission form below. Please indicate your preferred presentation format and outline any space, accessibility, or material requirements on the form.

Submission Deadline: 11:59 p.m. (EST), Sunday, January 18, 2026
Notification of Acceptance: February 2026
Successful applicants will receive priority registration for the conference.

For questions related to abstracts or submissions, please contact: sciindig@uwaterloo.ca.

UW Protocols Regarding the Use of Generative AI in Proposal Submission and Peer Review  

The University of Waterloo is committed to ensuring that Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is used ethically and with integrity. This extends to of all its participants (proposal submitters, reviewers, attendees). We are aligned with the Tri-Agency’s position, which stipulates that “privacy, confidentiality, data security and the protection of intellectual property must be considered and prioritized in the development and review” (Government of Canada) of scholarly work.   

Purpose

This protocol outlines the principles and guidelines for the ethical use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) at UW. It aims to ensure that when AI technologies are used, they are integrated in a responsible, transparent, accountable, and fair manner. GenAI was used to draft this policy (see statement below).   

Authorship

GenAI tools can be used for idea generation, to build a corpus of secondary sources, and/or to proofread your work. 

GenAI must not be used to conduct the analysis of your data or to create your presentation or abstract.  

You must always disclose use of AI (akin to the use of other research tools like NVivo, SPSS, and R), detailing how it was used, the prompt you put in, and the nature of the content it generated. See the  Artificial Intelligence Disclosure (AID) framework. If you intend to publish your presentation as a scholarly article, confirm the journal’s GenAI policy early on, as certain journals entirely forbid it, or forbid certain uses.  

When in doubt, email us!   

Reference  

Government of Canada. (2024, April 10). Draft guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in the development and review of research grant proposals. 

Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Statement

Gen AI - Review Policy All abstracts and posters submitted to the Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference 2026 will be reviewed by a committee from the University of Waterloo. Artificial intelligence will not be used to evaluate proposals or provide feedback; all decisions will be made through a human-led review process. 

Abstract submission form

Please include institutional affiliation, position, and contact information for each author on a separate line in the following format: 

First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Institutional Affiliation 
E.g.: John, Doe, johndoe@uwaterloo.ca, University of Waterloo 

For each author, identify whether they will also be attending the conference (either online on Day 1 or in-person on Day 2) and presenting. 

Will Author/Presenter 1 be attending the conference?
Will Author/Presenter 2 be attending the conference?
Make sure that the title clearly describes the session's content, and that it sparks attendees' interest.
Session format. Please select one of the following options:
Abstracts and posters are welcomed across four interdisciplinary streams. Please indicate which stream best describes your submission.
Reviewers may accept a proposal, but suggest that it be delivered in a different format or modality. Are you open to presenting in a different format (e.g., a workshop turned into a presentation) or in a different modality (a proposed in-person session moved online)?

If this situation arises and you answered "yes" to this question, we will reach out to you. If you answered "no" and your proposal is accepted in a different format or modality, we will consider it to have been "rejected."   

Keep in mind that you are writing for an audience of academics who are not specialists in your discipline. 

Session descriptions should include the following: 

  • Relevance to conference theme. 
  • Connection to practice, theory, research, and/or literature. 
  • Learning outcomes of your session. 
  • Research presentations and posters must have a "Methodology" section. 

For online and in-person workshops, make sure to provide a strong rationale as to why the learning outcomes of your session are best-served by this format. Consider the following questions: What type of in real-time feedback will the participants get? What type of activities will they complete? 

Note: Session descriptions will appear in the conference program. 

Please provide an outline of your session. Make sure that the activities are appropriate and manageable for a 60-minute session. 
Provide up to three keywords that describe the session.

References are required for all session formats. (Panels and workshops can be based on practice, whereas posters and presentations are generally based on literature.) 
 
We recognize that some scholars use non-Western systems of knowledge and that citation practices vary. If you use sources that do not lend themselves to a bibliography, tell us about them. 

List two to three main actionable takeaways from your session; if someone were unable to attend, what key research findings/practical experiences would you want them to know?

If proposing a workshop, please explain how you intend to engage your audience and encourage interaction. 
 
Make sure that the plan for engagement includes specific and effective strategies that are manageable and appropriate for a 60-minute session. There needs to be sufficient specific information in the plan to allow attendees to determine whether they can adopt the activities or strategies discussed. 

Describe the format of the alternative session that you envision as best suiting your topic and audience. What makes your proposed conference format unique (or different) from the other listed session options? 
 
Make sure that the plan for engagement includes specific and effective strategies that are manageable and appropriate for a 60-minute session. There needs to be sufficient specific information in the description to allow attendees to determine whether they can adopt the activities or strategies discussed. 

All rooms will be equipped with a computer, a projection screen, speakers, a microphone, and a clicker. 

If there are additional requirements that you may have, let us know, and we will accommodate them to the best of our ability. 
 
If you don't have any requirements, please leave this section blank. 

The University of Waterloo is committed to achieving barrier-free accessibility for persons with disabilities who are visiting, studying, or working at Waterloo. If you have any questions regarding accessibility for the conference, please contact sciindig@uwaterloo.ca. If you have an accessibility need for the proposal process or wish to request accommodations for your conference session, please describe them below. 
Do you require a Smudge friendly space?

The University of Waterloo is committed to honouring and upholding smudging as a protected cultural and spiritual practice. The Office of Indigenous Relations has a directory of rooms that have been tested and approved and do not require any system by-passing prior to smudging.
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