Native American studies (also known as American Indian, Indigenous American, Aboriginal, Native, or First Nations studies) is an interdisciplinary academic field that examines the history, culture, politics, issues, spirituality, sociology and contemporary experience of Native peoples in North America, Increasingly, debate has focused on the differences rather than the similarities between other ethnic studies disciplines such as African American studies, Asian American studies, and Latino/a studies.

In particular, the political sovereignty of many indigenous nations marks substantive differences in historical experience from that of other racial and ethnic groups in the United States and Canada. Drawing from numerous disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, history, literature, political science, and gender studies, Native American studies scholars consider a variety of perspectives and employ diverse analytical and methodological tools in their work.

Two key concepts shape Native American studies, according to Crow Creek Lakota scholar Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, indigenousness (as defined in culture, geography, and philosophy) and sovereignty (as legally and historically defined). Practitioners advocate for decolonization of indigenous peoples, political autonomy, and the establishment of a discipline dedicated to alleviating contemporary problems facing indigenous peoples. This discipline would be informed by traditional knowledge, especially oral history, and would "defend indigenous nationhood in America". These fundamental questions range from who can study Native American Studies in undergraduate courses

Universities and colleges with Native American studies departments, programs, and courses

United States

  • Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
  • Blackfeet Community College (Browning, MT)
  • College of Menominee Nation (Keshena, WI)
  • Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
  • Fort Lewis College (Durango, CO)
  • Haskell Indian Nations University (Lawrence, KS)
  • Haskell Indian Nations University (Lawrence, KS)
  • Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)
  • Montana State University (Bozeman, MT)
  • Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ)
  • Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA)
  • Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ)
  • Northwest Indian College (Bellingham, WA)
  • Navajo Technical University (Crownpoint, NM)
  • Salish Kootenai College (Pablo, MT)
  • San Diego State University (San Diego, CA)
  • Sitting Bull College (Fort Yates, ND)
  • Smith College (Northampton, MA)
  • Southwestern Community College (Sylva, NC)
  • Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (Albuquerque, NM)
  • United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck, ND)
  • University of Alaska Fairbanks (Fairbanks, AK)
  • University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)
  • University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
  • University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
  • University of California, Riverside (Riverside, CA)
  • University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa (Honolulu, HI)
  • University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS)
  • University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Amherst, MA)
  • University of Massachusetts, Boston (Boston, MA)
  • University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
  • University of Montana (Missoula, MT)
  • University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM)
  • University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Pembroke, NC)
  • University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND)
  • University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK)
  • University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
  • University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)

Canada

  • Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario)
  • McGill University (Montreal, Quebec)
  • Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, British Columbia)
  • University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta)
  • University of British Columbia (Vancouver, British Columbia)
  • University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta)
  • University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
  • University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
  • University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario)
  • University of Victoria (Victoria, British Columbia)
  • University of Winnipeg (Winnipeg, Manitoba)

Europe

  • Leiden University (Leiden, Netherlands)
  • University of Aberdeen (Aberdeen, Scotland)
  • University of Bern (Bern, Switzerland)
  • University of Cologne (Cologne, Germany)
  • University of Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • University of East Anglia (Norwich, England)
  • University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland)
  • University of Exeter (Exeter, England)
  • University of Helsinki (Helsinki, Finland)
  • University of Osnabrück (Osnabrück, Germany)
  • University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)
  • University of Tromsø (Tromsø, Norway)

Publications

  • Decolonization Indigeneity, Education & Society
  • Wíčazo Ša Review
  • American Indian Quarterly
  • American Indian Culture and Research Journal
  • Canadian Journal of Native Studies
  • The NAIS Journal
  • Native South
  • Native Studies Review
  • Studies in American Indian Literatures (SAIL)
  • Transmotion
  • Yellow Medicine Review

Conferences and symposia

  • Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA)
  • American Indian Studies Conference
  • Native American Art Studies Association, biannual
  • Native American Literature Symposium
  • Native American Symposium, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, biannual
  • Symposium on the American Indian, Northeastern State University

Notable scholars

  • Taiaiake Alfred (Kanien'kehaka/Kahnawake Mohawk)
  • Paula Gunn Allen (Laguna Pueblo/Sioux)
  • Cutcha Risling Baldy (Hupa/Yurok/Karuk)
  • Greg Cajete (Santa Clara Pueblo)
  • Dean Chavers (Lumbee)
  • Brenda Child (Red Lake Ojibwe)
  • Allison Hedge Coke
  • Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (Crow Creek Sioux)
  • Philip S. Deloria (Standing Rock Sioux)
  • Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux)
  • Raymond DeMallie
  • Jack D. Forbes (self-identified Powhatan/Renape-Lenape descent)
  • Daniel Heath Justice (Cherokee Nation)
  • Trudie Lamb-Richmond (Schaghticoke)
  • Stacy Leeds (Cherokee Nation)
  • Devon A. Mihesuah (Choctaw Nation)
  • Jean O'Brien (White Earth Ojibwe)
  • Simon J. Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo)
  • Luana Ross (Salish and Kootenai)
  • Greg Sarris (Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria)
  • Audra Simpson (Mohawk)
  • James Thomas Stevens (Mohawk)
  • Charlene Teters (Spokane Tribe)
  • Gerald Vizenor (White Earth Anishinaabe)
  • David E. Wilkins (Lumbee)
  • Robert A. Williams Jr. (Lumbee)
  • Craig Womack (self-identified Muscogee descent)
  • Alfred Young Man (Rocky Boy Chippewa-Cree)

See also

  • Center for World Indigenous Studies
  • Cultural studies
  • Diné College Press
  • Indian Country Today
  • Indigenous Law Centre
  • Postcolonialism

Notes

References

Further reading

  • Native American and Indigenous Studies Association
  • Native American Art Studies Association
  • Guide to Native American Studies Programs in the United States and Canada
  • Native Studies Review