Undergraduate Minor in American Indian Studies
The American Indian Studies Program (AIS) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) is an academic resource for information and understanding about Native American peoples. The mission of the American Indian Studies Program is:
- To provide an opportunity for all students to learn about Native American cultures and societies through an interdisciplinary program
- To facilitate research and other creative activities that concern Native American peoples and that have potential benefit for them
- To serve the University and State of New Mexico in ways that support and illuminate the rich heritage of Native American peoples
AIS focuses on Native American cultures and societies, deals with contemporary and historical experiences of American Indians, and examines the contributions of Indigenous peoples to life in the United States and other American nations. This specialized field has developed in reaction to Western academic views of Native Americans and to the frequently restrictive, disciplinary approach within universities to issues concerning Native peoples.
AIS contributes to a new understanding of Native American cultures and societies from contemporary and historical perspectives. AIS encourages the creation of knowledge about Native Americans from previously unexplored or little known materials, and questions the premises of existing academic disciplines in a way promoting the reinterpretation of existing materials. AIS, therefore, contributes to the continuing effort that all universities must make to create, reorganize, distribute, and apply knowledge.
New Mexico is home to over 165,000 Indian citizens (2000 US Census). The American Indian Studies Program is a central component of NMSU’s efforts to recruit, retain, and meet the needs of Indigenous students. From a long-range perspective, administrators, faculty, and students supportive of American Indian Studies will encourage the development of additional courses concerning Native Americans. They also will encourage the retention and recruitment of Native American students and faculty members.
For more information about this minor, please contact Dr. Don Pepion at dpepion@nmsu.edu.
Minor Requirements
Students must pass a total of 18 credits of which at least 9 of which must be upper division. A grade of "C" or better must be obtained for each course. Students may count S grades only in courses in which all grades are S/U, and no more than 6 hours of "S" credit can be accepted. Students can count no more than 3 credits in independent studies, readings, or special topics courses.
Such courses, marked below with an asterisk (*), must focus upon American Indians and must be approved in advance by the director of the minor program, specifying the semester during which a student takes such a course.
Please contact the Department of Sociology and Anthropology regarding the minor advisor. Students may count no more than 9 credits in Anthropology (except that ANTH/SOC 330G, Introduction to Religious Studies, may be included above this limit) and no more than 6 credits in History.
The American Indian Studies Minor form, listing specific requirements and available courses, is available for download below.
What Students Have to Say...
- “It opened my eyes on cultural events I’ve never seen.”
- “I really enjoyed this course. I hope there are more classes like this on Native Americans.”
- “This is a very interesting and enlightening topic.”
- “The content was very good and helped me learn a lot.”
- “The content was really interesting and the assignments brought new knowledge to me.”
- “I have learned quite a bit of Native American traditions and culture.”
- “[I] enjoyed this class immensely, thank you.”