Native American Studies Courses & Electives from the Disciplines

Native American Studies Courses

NAS 201
Introduction to Native American Studies (4) Introduction to the principal subject matter and interdisciplinary methods of Native American studies. Topics include understanding traditional cultures and languages and their significance for contemporary native peoples; the political and legal status of Native Americans in the United States and at the U.N.; contemporary native communities and tribal governments; Native American literature, art, music, dance, both contemporary and traditional.

NAS 301
Introduction to Native American Languages (4)
General introduction to the linguistic and cultural background of endangered native languages of North America. Topics include structure of native languages; relationship of language to other aspects of culture such as worldview, social organization, and story telling; history of language change and current tribal projects to revitalize native languages.

NAS 399
Special Topics (Credit to be arranged).

NAS 404
Cooperative Education/Internship (Credit to be arranged.)
Prerequisites: NAS 201, and 8 upper-division credits in NAS or courses approved by adviser.

NAS 417
Language Maintenance and Revitalization (4)
General introduction to endangered language revitalization, with a focus on native languages of the Pacific Northwest. Topics include history of attempts to eradicate native languages and the effects; theoretical basis for revitalization; emerging tribal policies; and relations between linguists and native communities.

Courses from the Disciplines

Anthropology

Anth 313
Indian-White Relations (4)
Consideration of North Americans since 1500: problems of social and cultural survival and change, as well as changing governmental policies, population, non-Indian conceptions of “The Indian.”

Anth 314
Native Americans (4)
Ethnographic survey of North American Indian cultures-from simple hunter-gatherers to complex empires-illustrating the patterns of adaptations to the variety of landscapes and historical processes.

Anth 364
Pacific Northwest Prehistory (4)
The prehistory of northwestern North America from its earliest occupants to the arrival of Europeans, with emphasis on developments during the last 5,000 years. Recommended prerequisite: Anth 350.

Anth 365
North American Prehistory (4)
A survey of pre-contact cultures north of Mexico, from the first prehistoric migrant populations and early hunter-gatherers to the complex agricultural societies encountered by 15th and 16th century European explorers. Recommended prerequisite: Anth 350.

Anth 366
Mesoamerican Prehistory (4)
Early cultures of Mesoamerica with an emphasis on the domestication of plants and animals and the development of civilization, focusing on the Maya and Highland Mexico. Recommended prerequisite: Anth 350.

Anth 417
Advanced Topics in Native American Studies (4)
In-depth examination of a current scholarly topic in the anthropology of native North America, especially in relation to colonialism and native resistance. Course will cover appropriate theory, as well as ethnographic and ethnohistorical materials. Recommended prerequisites: Anth 313 and 314 or two courses on Native Americans in any department.

Anth 422
Contemporary American Indian Policy (4)
An examination of current federal, state, and tribal law and policy pertaining to Indian affairs, including tribal government organization, government-to-government relations, economic development, natural and cultural resource management, health care, welfare, and education. Both reservation communities and the Portland metropolitan Indian community are considered. Student research is based on reading, field trips, and interviews with tribal officials and other policy professionals. Anth 313, 314 recommended.

Anth 464
Topics in Northwest Prehistory (4)
In-depth exploration of current problems in the study of Northwest Prehistory, particularly as it articulates with general theories of hunter-gatherer adaptations and cultural evolution. Recommended prerequisite: Anth 364.

English

Eng 305
Topics in Film (4)
Topics vary, including: Native American Cinema, First Nations Cinema.

Eng 308
Cultural Studies Topics (4)
Topics vary, including: Indians Thinking: Indigenousfuturisms.

Eng 309 
American Indian Literature (4) 
An introductory survey of traditional and recent literature by American Indian people. Poetry, legends, myths, oratory, short stories, and novels, as well as background (historical and political) materials.

History

Hst 330
Native Americans of Eastern North America (4)
Examines the origins of the Eastern Woodlands societies, surveys their culture around the time of European colonization, and considers how that culture changed in response to the arrival of Europeans to the North American continent. Traces the development of the major Indian nations of the region and explores how those nations responded to the Indian policy of the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Recommended prerequisite: upper-division standing.

Hst 331
Native Americans of Western North America (4)
Explores the history of peoples native to Western North America in the American Southwest and Pacific Coast regions, and in British Columbia. Covers the period from pre-contact to the present and considers the responses from native nations to the re-peopling of the West as well as examining U.S. and Canadian Indian policy. Recommended prerequisite: upper-division standing.

Hst 349
United States Indian Policy (4)
Examines the history of the United States government’s policy toward the Indian nations of North America. In particular, considers the Indian policies of the European imperial powers, the federal government’s creation and implementation of Indian policy, the conflicts and relationships between tribal nations and the state and federal governments, the origin of the Indian sovereignty movement, and the construction of tribal sovereignty by the state and federal courts of the United States. Recommended prerequisite: upper-division standing.

Hst 464
Indians of the Pacific Northwest (4)
Explores the history of peoples native to the Pacific Northwest with a special emphasis on natural resource allocation and the relationships between federal, state, and tribal governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. Recommended prerequisite: Hst 201, 202 or Hst 338U.

Hst 467
Readings in Native American History (4)
Surveys the historiography of Native American history, with a special emphasis on ethno-historical theory and methods, disease and depopulation, contact and encounter, spirituality and missions, federal Indian policy, gender and social roles, environmental context, and frontier theory. Recommended: one of the following: Hst 330, Hst 331, Hst 464/564.

Psychology

Psy 410
Topics in Psychology (4)
Topics vary, including: Native American Psychological Thought and Value, Native American Psychological Healing.