Peer Reviewed Articles
Author contributions were scholarly in nature. The author receives no financial compensation or royalties from publication.
Sagas of the Future North
(In consideration). “Sagas of the Future North: Rewriting Norse–Indigenous Contact Through Canadian Speculative Literature.” Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, special 50th-anniversary issue, “Speculative Futures in CanLit,” edited by J. Ball, L. Moss, and C. Sugars.
Securing futures
Salo, Mervi. 2025. "Securing Futures: The Inuvialuit Development Corporation and the Legacy of Reindeer Herding." The Journal of Aboriginal Economic Development 15 (2): 48-81. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/jaed564
A historical and policy-grounded account of reindeer herding in North America that connects Sámi herding traditions to the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation’s contemporary stewardship of Canada’s only reindeer herd and related food-security initiatives in Inuvik. ISSN: 1481-9112
Full article at:https://jaed.ca/index.php/jaed
Sailing beyond the saga: Women warriors and Viking piracy
Salo, Mervi. 2026. “Sailing Beyond the Saga: Women Warriors and Viking Piracy.” World History Connected 22, no. 2 (Pirates & Piracy in World History), edited by Cynthia Ross, guest edited by Ian Abbey.
Vikings and The Witcher
Salo, Mervi, and Alexander “Lex” Hergott. “Vikings and The Witcher: Who Gets to Be Medieval? How Pop Culture Highlights Viking Worlds but Leaves Slavic Medieval History in the Shadows.” In “The Fascination of the Middle Ages: Tracing Popular Medievalisms of Eastern Europe.” Copernico: History and Cultural Heritage in Eastern Europe, pending 2026. https://www.copernico.eu/en/topics.
Salmon, Sovereignty, and Sustainability
Salo, Mervi Maarit. "Salmon, Sovereignty, and Sustainability." World History Bulletin 41, no. 1 (Winter 2025). https://thewha.org.
The article examines how conservation and fisheries regulation on boundary rivers can marginalize Indigenous rights and knowledge (e.g., the Deatnu River) - and why sustainable governance must centre Indigenous sovereignty, especially in transboundary river systems. It also highlights árbediehtu (traditional ecological knowledge) as practice, law, and ethics - not an “add-on.”
Article at: https://thewha.org or ResearchGate
Fame in Public, Fortune in Kin
Salo, Mervi Maarit. “Fame in Public, Fortune in Kin: Gender and Value in Laxdæla saga.” Ceræ: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 13, edited by Ela Sefcikova. Under consideration (2026).
Borders Against Nations
Salo, Mervi Maarit. “Borders Against Nations: Settler Territoriality and Indigenous Sovereignty in Sápmi and North America.” Histories. Special issue, “Interactions Across Borders in Historical Contexts: Interdisciplinary Approaches,” edited by Mariana Boscariol. Forthcoming (2026).
- New Title
Visual Sovereignty and the Reframing of Canada in Indigenous Comics and Graphic Narratives
Salo, Mervi Maarit. “Visual Sovereignty and the Reframing of Canada in Indigenous Comics and Graphic Narratives.” Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies [Vol/Issue No. if known]. Special issue, “Distinctly Canadian Voices,” edited by Zsuzsanna Lénárt-Muszka. Forthcoming (2026).
New Paragraph
Other Articles
Vision for Arts Education
Salo, Mervi. “Vision for Arts Education.” Paper prepared for the Second World Congress on Arts Education, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Korea, 2010. Published online at https://www.unesco.org/en
This paper offers an autoethnographic and policy-oriented account of Ontario’s large-scale arts curriculum reform, written from the perspective of the Ministry of Education’s lead Arts Education Officer. It situates the policy revision within its broader educational context and examines the processes used to design, implement, and support professional learning, including the development of webcast-based “online demonstration classrooms” to address the challenges of working across a vast and diverse jurisdiction. The paper frames arts education as a way of knowing, foregrounding creativity, critical literacy, inclusion, and cultural context, and argues for video-based professional learning as a powerful lever for systemic educational change.
Book Reviews
Review of Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Schools
Salo, Mervi Maarit. Review of Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Schools, by Pamela Rose Toulouse. OPC Register, 2018.
- A brief review of Pamela Rose Toulouse’s Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Schools serves as a call to action for educators to create inclusive, (w)holistic spaces. Published in the OPC Register, it examines the essential tools needed to bring Indigenous histories and contemporary realities into the heart of the Canadian curriculum.
Review of Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics
Salo, Mervi. Review of Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning, by Peter Liljedahl. OPC Register, 2024.
- A brief review of Peter Liljedahl’s Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, highlighting its relevance to Ontario’s Math Achievement Action Plan and High-Impact Instructional Practices. The review positions the book as a practical resource for principals and educators seeking to foster deeper mathematical thinking, collaboration, and student engagement while emphasizing the need to pair pedagogical innovation with strong mathematical content knowledge.