Note from the Editors

As we write these lines, the world is slowly opening up after several weeks of confinement, bringing relief but also bringing inequities into ever more sharp relief. The uncertainties provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fear of what is coming in the near future is palpable. We launched a call in May 2020 for late breaking submissions on the theme of "Giving Shape to COVID-19 through Anthropological Lenses." In doing so, we wished to contribute to the dynamism of our journal in providing a platform to share articles, photo essays, reflections and other text formats about pressing issues that relate to the pandemic. We believe that anthropologists and other social scientists have a key role to play during this uncertain period. In the call for papers, we wrote, "Anthropologists are inclined to think about the impacts of the pandemic on our changing world, and also on our work as social scientists and critical thinkers." This challenging period also forces us to rethink our approaches in the field and to creatively cope with new methodological issues. Some of the questions raised in our call echo possible shifts in how we used to conduct research; for instance, we ask: What might COVID-19 potentially imply for community-engaged work and fieldwork in general? And how is the pandemic radically shaping the types of questions we ask as social scientists, now and in the future? Such concerns are both fascinating and disconcerting. We look forward to publishing these timely contributions in our Spring 2021 issue.

In this fast-changing world, the current Fall 2020 issue takes on an even greater significance as it is the last non–open access publication of Anthropologica. In 2018, the majority of CASCA members who participated in a survey voted in favour of this transition. We are pleased to say that as of 2021, all of the manuscripts published in Anthropologica will be fully accessible to our members, colleagues, students and the general public for free. This exciting transition is not without its challenges. We are thankful to the Open Access Working Group (OAWG) led by Caura Wood and Thomas McIllwraith, as well as the CASCA executive committee, for their precious support and insightful advice as we explore the various options available to host our journal. We will keep our members informed of upcoming changes. Until then, our members can be assured that we are entirely committed to maintaining the excellence and positive expansion of our journal. We feel well equipped to respond to the upcoming changes, and our work is driven by the excitement to witness our journal finally become available in an open access platform in the next few months.

Through four contributions and one concluding remark, the current thematic issue places the treaty relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian state at the centre of a complex engagement with what it means to "live together with the land." In the wake of the Wet'suwet'en protests over the Trans Mountain pipeline and the most recent agreement between the Canadian state and the hereditary chiefs, this thematic issue is especially timely. In their introduction, guest co-editors Sylvie Poirier and Clinton Westman explain that "'living together with the land' […] convey[s] the notion that the land is a partner and active agent in treaty relationships" and that Indigenous people constantly reinvent themselves as both expressing forms of resistance and resilience in face of the colonial state. We are excited to publish this thematic issue that covers the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia and that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars.

This issue is also bestowed with several contributions besides the special themed section. The first two non-thematic contributions celebrate our members' legacy and excellence. Noel Dyck received the prestigious Weaver-Tremblay Award in 2019. His address, "Illuminating Details: Reflections on a Practice of Anthropology," opens up our non-thematic section. Next, Alexandria Petit-Thorne, recipient of the CASCA Women's Network Student Award, engages with workplace sexual violence during the #MeToo era in Canadian universities. We salute her courage and determination as well as the significance of her article...