Graduate Minor in Native American Studies

The purpose of the Native American Studies Graduate Minor are to:

• Provide an opportunity for all students to learn about Native American cultures

and societies,

• Facilitate research and other creative activities that concern Native American

peoples and that have potential benefit for them,

• Serve the University and State of New Mexico in ways that support and

illuminate the rich heritage of Native American peoples.

NAS 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 specialization field has developed in reaction to Western academic views

of Native Americans and to the frequently restrictive, assimilationist approach

within universities to issues concerning Native peoples. NAS contributes to a new

understanding of Native American cultures and societies from contemporary and

historical perspectives.

For the minor in Anthropology, students are required to complete 9 credits

(3 courses) of graduate-level Anthropology coursework. A minor in anthropology

provides a useful concentration for students developing professional careers in

teaching, environmental sciences, international business, community development,

health sciences, social work, art, historic preservation.

To qualify for a graduate minor in Native American Studies- Anthropology,

students are required to complete 9 credit hours (3 classes) of graduate level

courses. To record a minor on a student's transcript, the minor must be listed on

the "Application for Admission to Candidacy," and the Native American Studies

advisor in the Department of anthropology must sign this form. Graduate students

majoring in Anthropology may not also earn a minor in the same field. Core courses

for the minor are as follows:

• ANTH 541, Issues in Native American Studies

• ANTH 543, Indigenous Ways of Knowing

• ANTH 455, Federal Indian Policy

Alternative and support classes are identified below in the list of cognate classes,

and one class or alternative classes may be substituted with the approval of the

student's M.A. chair and the Coordinator for the Graduate Minor in Native American

Studies.

Cognate Area Courses:

• ENGL 557, American Indian Literatures

• GOVT 524, American Indian Politics

• HIST 509, Native American History

• MSW 564, Social Work with Native American Populations