The Journal of Northern Indigenous Community and Rural Development is a peer-reviewed open access publication, designed to facilitate, integrate, and memorialize academic and community dialogue and research on contemporary issues important to rural Alaska, Alaska Native, American Indian, Indigenous, and rural communities, e.g., rural and sustainable economic and community development, the wellbeing of Indigenous people and their communities, Indigenous governance, self-determination, and self-reliance, Indigenous education and research, and relevant local, regional, and national history, policy, and law. 

The editors welcome contributions on topics relevant to rural and Indigenous communities from a wide range of disciplines and practices, including: community development, Indigenous studies, Alaska Native studies, cultural studies, anthropology, oral history, women's studies, sociology, geography, political economy, social work, museum studies, education, legal studies, geography, economics, political science, and any area where Indigenous and/or rural concerns and perspectives are emphasized. We welcome a variety of approaches from people of different backgrounds.

The JNIC&RD was developed by faculty in the Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks when they realized that no existing publication addressed the unique combination of issues and concerns relevant to rural and Alaska Native communities, nor was there a jounal intended to facilitate conversations between academics and communities.

The mission of the Journal of Northern Indigenous Community and Rural Development is to:

(1) grow Indigenous and rural community leaders and to build and strengthen their capacities;

(2) promote and document the ongoing and growing discourses in the fields of Alaska Native Studies, American Indian Studies, Indigenous Studies, and Rural Development;

(3) grow, promote, and tenure scholars in these fields, including Native and Indigenous scholars; and

(4) to assist rural, Native, and Indigenous communities, tribal governments, and Native/tribal corporations in identifying priority issues, furthering stakeholder defined and prioritized research, discussion, and problem-solving.