The Native American Studies Minor

The Native American Studies minor is designed to help students develop a greater respect for and understanding of diverse Native cultures by providing historical context and contemporary perspectives.

Students who complete the NAS minor enhance their ability to think in nontraditional, non-Western ways and interact more effectively with diverse populations

Course Catalog Course Descriptions Special Topic Courses

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The best learning takes place when people tell their own story, in their own words

As part of their regular coursework, our students learn from films, artwork, scholarship, music, and literature produced by Native people and read Native news publications and tribal websites. 

Through our classes and other opportunities facilitated by our program’s faculty, students have traveled to visit and study in diverse indigenous communities such as 

• Navajo Nation
• Eastern Band of Cherokee
• Native Village of Tuntutuliak, Alaska
• Yankton Sioux Reservation
• Pine Ridge (Oglala Sioux) Reservation
• Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
• Pueblo of Acoma, the  San Carlos Apache Reservation
• Native Hawaiian communities on the island of Kaua`i

Lecturers from diverse tribal backgrounds

We have been honored with classroom presentations by lecturers from diverse tribal backgrounds, including: Blood Tribe, Wiyot, Mandan, Hidatsa, Choctaw, Apache, Lakota, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Cheyenne, Monacan, Shawnee, Seneca, Seneca-Cayuga, Onondaga, Wampanoag, Pascua Yaqui, Navajo, Hopi, Oneida, Ojibwe, Lumbee, Salish, Isleta Pueblo, Yup'ik, Chickasaw, Luiseno Band of Mission Indians, Delaware, Mohawk, Huron, Tuscarora, Modoc, Mohegan, Hodulgee Muscogee, Chippewa, Comanche, Inuk, Alutiiq, Pawnee, Yuchi, etc.

Cultural event participation and site visits

In addition, faculty and students attend and participate in Native American cultural events in the region and beyond, enriching their cultural awareness and appreciation. NAS activities allow students to learn about and visit important nearby sites such as:

• Grave Creek Mound Archaeology Complex in Moundsville, West Virginia
• Meadowcroft Rockshelter near Avella, Pennsylvania, home to artifacts dating back 16,000 years, 
• Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians at Pittsburgh’s  Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 
• Ohio’s Great Serpent Mound
• Newark, Ohio Earthworks complex
• Ft. Necessity National Battlefield

Native American Studies students from Instructor Christopher Chaney's American Indian Law class attended US Supreme Court oral arguments in the US v Bryant case...another great NAS opportunity to learn firsthand about important issues facing Indian Country and the United States in general.