Native American & Indigenous Studies

253.535.8107 www.plu.edu/nais suzanne.crawford@plu.edu
Suzanne Crawford O’Brien, Ph.D., Chair Pro-Tem

Native American and Indigenous Studies is an interdisciplinary program grounded in a partnership between students, faculty, staff and local communities, with a global Indigenous focus centered in local and regional contexts. We empower students to recognize, honor and value Indigenous ways of knowing, so that they can work in collaboration with Indigenous communities and all their relations.

Minor

22 semester hours

Core courses in Native American and Indigenous studies
6 semester hours

Students must take the following core courses that introduce the field of Native American and Indigenous Studies and explore key approaches and issues within it.

  • NAIS 111: Interconnections (1)
  • NAIS 112: Interconnections (1)
  • NAIS 250: Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies (4)

Northwest Language and Worldview
8 semester hours

Students select two from among these three courses exploring Indigenous language and worldviews of the Pacific Northwest. Equivalent coursework in other Indigenous languages may be substituted for SOLU 101 and/or 102.

  • SOLU 101: Southern Lushootseed: Introduction to Oral Language (4)
  • SOLU 102: Southern Lushootseed: Oral Language Dialogue (4)
  • ANTH 190/192: Practicing Anthropology: Makah Culture Past and Present (4)

Electives
8 semester hours

Students select 8 semester hours from the following courses that study Indigenous topics and perspectives. These courses must each be from a different department or program.

  • ANTH 190/192: Practicing Anthropology: Makah Culture Past and Present (4)
    (if not used to satisfy the Northwest Language and Worldview requirement above)
  • ANTH 225: Past Cultures of Washington State (2)
  • ANTH 330: Cultures and People of Native North America (4)
  • ENGL 288: Special Topics in English (4)
    (when the topic is ‘Indigenous Literature of North America’)
  • HIST 348: Lewis and Clark: History and Memory (4)
  • HIST 351: History of Western and Pacific Northwestern U.S. (4)
  • IHON 258: Self, Culture & Society (4)
    (when the topic is ‘Colonization in the Americas’)
  • NAIS 230: Indigenous Creation Narratives of the Americas (4)
  • NORD 286 Sámi Culture in Global Indigenous Contexts (4)
  • RELI 227: Christian Theology (4)
    (when the topic is ‘Native American Theologies’)
  • RELI 236: Native American Religious Traditions (4)
  • RELI 393: Topics in Comparative Religion (4)
    (when the topic is ‘Native Traditions of the Pacific Northwest’)

NAIS 111 : Interconnections

A weekly meeting with program students and faculty to discuss progress, challenges, and the intersection of Indigenous approaches and the university experience. Students are encouraged to attend for no credit in subsequent semesters. Graded A/Pass/Fail. (1)

NAIS 112 : Interconnections

A weekly meeting with program students and faculty to discuss progress, challenges, and the intersection of Indigenous approaches and the university experience. Students are encouraged to attend for no credit in subsequent semesters. Graded A/Pass/Fail. (1)

NAIS 230 : Indigenous Creation Narratives of the Americas and their Resonance - LT, A or C

Through encounters with a variety of creation narratives, literature, film, and visual art from native peoples of the Americas, students examine changing relationships with the land, the cosmos, and other living beings. (4)

NAIS 250 : Introduction to Native American & Indigenous Studies - A

Introduces students to the scope, methodologies, and intellectual traditions of Native American and Indigenous Studies, focusing on such topics as Indigeneity, settler colonialism, sovereignty, resilience, and the intersectionality of Indigeneity with gender and sexuality. May include community-based service learning components. (4)

NAIS 321 : Visual Sovereignty and Indigenous Film - A

Working with Indigenous and film studies theory, students will develop a familiarity with themes and trends in Indigenous film and related media, while also developing the critical tools and analytical skills necessary to analyze and discuss them and how they relate to broader issues of Indigeneity. (4)

NAIS 491 : Independent Study

To provide individual undergraduate students with advanced study not available in the regular curriculum. The title will be listed on the student term-based record as IS: followed by the specific title designated by the student. (1 to 4)