Undergraduate
Minors
Native American and Indigenous Studies
Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS) is the academic studies program within IUPUI American Indian Programs at the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. The program is interdisciplinary, combining the efforts of faculty throughout the university. Native American & Indigenous Studies offers students an opportunity to learn about Native American Cultures - literature, philosophy, anthropology, values, lifeways, spirituality, and social and political institutions. The program was created and built on a tradition of activism on contemporary issues.
Native American & Indigenous Studies introduces students to differences in the perspectives of Native American cultures on a wide variety of topics, including issues relating to communication across the cultural boundaries of both past and present eras. Students gain an awareness of humanistic knowledge within the framework of North American human experience. Some students are of Native American descent, but most are not. The minor is a 12-credit program which requires two courses: N101 Introduction to Native American & Indigenous Studies (3 credits)as well as N396 Native American & Indigenous Studies Experiential Learning (3 credits). The remaining two courses can be chosen from a myriad of approved Native content courses offered through various departments within our IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI.
Classes often are taken by students from a number of fields to satisfy cultural-diversity requirements. Students also include NAIS courses in programs leading to degrees in medicine, law, education, public administration, social work, and criminal justice. Many students enroll in the program to learn more about their own identity or Native ancestry. Native American Studies undergraduate students support the student organization called Native American Student Alliance (NASA) which provides and supports education awareness and program development on campus. Graduate students, staff and faculty work together to enhance educational, professional and cultural opportunities for members of the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis Native American community through the Native American Faculty Staff Council (NAFSC).
