Native American Indian Studies Certificate

Director: Ron Welburn

Office: E-25 Machmer

Phone: 577-1607

Fax: 545-9494

E-mail: cpnais@anthro.umass.edu

Web site: www.umass.edu/nativestudies/

The Certificate Program in Native American Indian Studies provides an opportunity to learn about and become more sensitized to the development, growth, and interactions of the hundreds of indigenous nations of the Western Hemisphere. The program emphasizes the long history of Native American Indians in the Western Hemisphere, and their many positions in contemporary life. Its interdisciplinary and interdepartmental approach is intended to foster an understanding of the many facets of the indigenous nations' lifeways, including cultural forms, institutions, political economies, and modes of self-expression.

Departments which formally participate in the program are Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Continuing Education/Biology, English, Geosciences, History, Legal Studies, and Social Thought and Political Economy. The program's advisory board includes: Ron Welburn (English), Robert Paynter (Anthropology), Alice Nash (History), Peter d'Errico (Legal Studies), and Joyce Vincent (Josephine White Eagle Cultural Center), Aquila Aiyana McCants (Native American Student Support Services), Michelle Youngblood (Undergraduate Admissions), and three undergraduate and graduate students. Courses relevant to the program are offered at the University, and at the other colleges in the Five College Consortium. On-campus roles for Native American visitors are encouraged, as is student outreach to regional tribal communities and certain museum and research facilities.

The Program

Students must be in good standing in a University major to enroll. A minimum of six courses (18 credits) is required for the Certificate. Students develop individualized programs, which must be previously approved by the director. The requirements are intended to provide a broad introduction to the histories and contemporary issues affecting First Nations peoples of the Americas, particularly Indians of the Greater Northeast; to lead to an understanding of the interrelationships of sovereignty issues; and to expose students to the rich cultural heritage of Native American literature, orality, and other expressive forms. Students completing the program will be expected to have a basic understanding of discrete Native American traditions as well as the larger similarities shared by these various communities.

Requirements

1. ANTH 370 Contemporary Issues of North American Indians.

2. One course in each of the following areas: diversity among Native Americans; contemporary issues; and cultural expression (see below).

3. Two additional courses from any of the three Curriculum Areas.

The Curriculum Areas

Offerings on this campus and at the other colleges vary each semester, and special topics courses and seminars may be available which are not included in this catalog. Students should contact the director for course suggestions each semester, and for information on which courses fall into the different areas. The following is a partial list of core courses in each of the required areas of the curriculum.

Diversity Area:

AFROAM 397A Native Americans and African Americans

ANTH 197B Introduction to Native American Indian Studies

ANTH 270 North American Indians

ANTH 337 Mesoamerican Archaeology

ANTH 369 North American Archaeology

ANTH 375 South American Archaeology

ANTH 397 Andean Archaeology

GEO 494A American Indian Geographies

HIST 170 Indian Peoples of North America

HIST 397C Native American Women

HIST 592B Native Peoples of the Northeast

Contemporary Issues Area:

ANTH 376 South American Ethnology

GEO 497S Indigenous Peoples and Conservation

LEGAL 460 The Legalization of American Indians

LEGAL 470 Indigenous Peoples, Global Issues

STPEC 394D They Taught You Wrong

Cultural Expression Area:

ANTH 234 Art in Cross-Cultural Perspective

BIOL 197B Ethnobotany of Northeastern Native Americans (Continuing Education)

ENGL 116 Native American Literature

ENGL 497D Special Topics in American Literature: Native American