American Indian Studies

College of Ethnic Studies

Dean: Kenneth Monteiro

Department of American Indian Studies

EP 103
Phone: 415-405-3928
Chair: Joanne Barker

Faculty

Associate Professors: Barker, Jolivette, Nelson
Assistant Professor: Collins, Perea
Lecturers: Klasky, Wallace

Programs:

B.A. in American Indian Studies

Minor in American Indian Studies

Program Scope of American Indian Studies

The department’s educational mission and objectives has a special responsibility to Native peoples of California and the United States. California is the land on which the University and department rests; CSU is a public institution in the United States education system. Therefore, significant aspects of the program and curriculum are focused on Natives of California, US-Native politics, and North American Indian cultures with the aim of preparing students to work with Native groups and urban communities in California and the United States. The program also includes an international, comparative perspective and coalitional politics with Native peoples of U.S. occupied territories and more broadly within the Americas and the Pacific. It balances classroom education with an active community participatory learning component. Therefore, it best prepares students for going on to do graduate work or a number of different careers with Native peoples in not only California but internationally.

Learning Objectives

In completing the major and minor program: (1) Students will understand the complex histories, politics, and social issues confronting Native peoples in the context of U.S. colonization, imperialism, and globalization. This understanding will include awareness of the diverse political strategies used by Native peoples to confront the historical legacies of dispossession, genocide, and social inequity and discrimination, including legal action for land restoration and cultural conservation/revitalization efforts. (2) Students will be informed on the uniqueness of Native epistemologies and their articulation in contemporary forms of cultural media, such as through literature and the creative arts. (3) Students will gain invaluable experiential knowledge through community service learning, as a way of connecting classroom education to career preparation and advisement. (4) Students will possess the necessary analytical, writing, and oral communication skills to prepare them for careers or graduate school in areas related to American Indian Studies.

Community Service Learning

Many courses within the major provide a Community Service Learning (CSL) option, including AIS 205 American Indians and U.S. Laws and AIS 460 Power and Politics in American Indian History. The option allows students to integrate classroom education with community participatory learning. Students are enrolled in an AIS core or elective course plus AIS 694 Community Service Learning and work with an organization approved by the Department for 15-45 hours over the course of the semester (depending on the units). AIS 694 is entirely on-line, with requirements that include short written assignments and a book review. Organizations with which students have served in the past include the American Indian Child Resource Center, California Indian Legal Services, The Cultural Conservancy, International Indian Treaty Council, and the Native American Health Center.

Career Outlook

An American Indian Studies major provides a diverse foundation of knowledge and skills that can be applied to a number of careers. American Indian Studies alumni have and can anticipate to secure employment in: teaching; health care and social work; environmental and cultural rights organizations; tribal businesses and government; agricultural and pastoral enterprises; the traditional arts; ethnography and cultural programs; media and communications industries; museums and cultural centers; and, federal and state agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Services, Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Title IX Indian Education Program, and the National and State Park Services.

Bachelor of Arts in American Indian Studies

Students interested in the American Indian Studies major should seek advising from American Indian Studies faculty members to plan a course of matriculation.

Courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated. On-line course descriptions are available.

Students in the major must earn a grade of C or better for each course in the core.

Core Requirements (21 units)

Course	Title
AIS 100	Introduction to American Indian Studies
AIS 150	American Indians and U.S. History
AIS 160	Survey of Native California
AIS 205	American Indians and U.S. Laws
AIS 300	American Indian Studies Research Methodologies
AIS 694	Community Service Learning (1-3 unit options for a total of 3 in any combination)
AIS 680	American Indian Studies Senior Seminar

Elective Requirements The elective requirements are organized into four areas of emphasis. Upon advisement, students may select one course from each area of emphasis (12 units total) and an additional two courses (6 units total) for a total of 18 units; or, they may complete six courses (18 units total) in one area of emphasis where available. Fifteen units must be completed at the upper-division level. Upon department approval, students may chose up to two elective courses (up to 6 units) from other departments/programs on campus.

1) California Indian Studies

(additional courses in development)

Course	Title
AIS 410	Perspectives of Native California Indians
AIS 694	Community Service Learning (for up to 3 additional units to the core requirement)

2) Creative Arts and the Humanities

Course	Title
AIS 162	American Indian Oral Literature
AIS 235	American Indian Images and Issues in the Mass Media
AIS 310	American Indian Religion and Philosophy
AIS 320	American Indian Music
AIS 325	American Indian Art
AIS 360	American Indian Novels and Poetry
AIS 400	American Indian Education
AIS 420	American Indian Women
AIS 490	Ancestors or Data?: Culture, Conflict and NAGPRA
AIS 500	Language and Cultural Systems of North American Indians
AIS 560	Modern Creative and Performing Arts
AIS 610	Native Americans and Museums

3) Law, Politics, and Society

Course	Title
AIS 230	Urban Indians
AIS 330	American Indian Law
AIS 350	Black-Indians in the Americas
AIS 400	American Indian Education
AIS 420	American Indian Women
AIS 430	American Indian Sovereignty
AIS 460	Power and Politics in American Indian History
AIS 470	American Indian Ethnicity: Problems in Identity
AIS 480	American Indian Social Movements
AIS 490	Ancestors or Data? The Politics of NAGPRA
AIS 540/ AIS 840	Advanced Topics in American Indian Law and Politics
AIS 600	Current Issues in the American Indian Community

4) Science, Health, and Environmental Studies

Course	Title
AIS 450	American Indian Science
AIS 490	Ancestors or Data: The Politics of NAGPRA
AIS 520	Before the Wilderness: American Indian Ecology

Total for major: 39

Note: A minimum of 40 upper division units must be completed for the degree (including upper division units required for the major, general education, electives, etc.). A student can complete this major yet not attain the necessary number of upper division units required for graduation. In this case additional upper division courses will be needed to reach the required total.