Indigenous Graduate Student Award

Indigenous Graduate Student Award

The Indigenous Graduate Student Award supports attendance of Indigenous graduate student members at the ACLA/CAAL annual conference.

*Note that in the case of online conferences when no travel is required, the award may take the form of payment of conference-related fees and/or a fixed amount, all subject to the approval of the ACLA Executive.

Eligibility

Applicants must be student members of ACLA at the time of application and enrolled in a university Master’s or Ph.D. program in applied linguistics or a related field. Only single or first authored individual submissions are eligible for consideration. Students can only win the award once per degree (Master’s, Ph.D.) but can apply more than once.

Guidelines

Applicants must email an application form and arrange for their thesis supervisor to email a letter of recommendation directly which confirms their current enrolment in a graduate program. The letter should indicate the significance of the research being presented, the progress the graduate student is making, and the reason why this person is deserving of the award. Moreover, students must provide proof of Indigenous identity. Any of the following documents constitute acceptable proof of Indigenous identity and will be recognized:

  • Status or Treaty Card
  • Métis Membership Card (ONLY Métis cards from the provincial counterparts of the Métis National Council)
  • Nunavut Trust Service Card
  • Inuit Roll Number
  • A letter from an Indigenous community or organization or a letter written by someone in a position of authority (e.g., academic advisor) who can address the matter of the applicant’s Indigenous identity

Documents should be sent to the current ACLA President (see https://www.aclacaal.org/about/executive/). The primary consideration in granting the award is the academic merit of the student’s proposal submitted to the conference. Other elements that can be taken into consideration are: how they contribute to Indigenous milieu, leadership, and how they are reclaiming language or teaching languages. The ACLA/CAAL Executive Committee determines the awardees.

Submission deadline

April 20 of the conference year.

Click here to download the Indigenous Graduate Student Award application form.

Recipients

2022

Jade LaFontaine • McGill University • Indigenous Graduate Student Award (Master’s)