American Indian Studies, Winter 2015

AIS 202: Introduction to Contemporary Experience in Indian America
5 credits, I&S/DIV
Tu/Th 11:30 - 1:20
Instructor: Scott Pinkham
This course will cover issues of concern to today’s American Indian/Alaska Natives. Topics will include identification, demographics, government relations, treaty rights, and representation, as well as cultural and social issues contemporary American Indian/ Alaska Natives face. History and background on U.S.-Indian relations will be covered for reference. Lectures will be designed to provide for student interaction and comments, with one or more classes reserved for classroom debates on current topics.
Readings will come from contemporary narratives and literature, web sources and reports on American Indian/Alaska Native issues.

Note: AIS 202 is one of the introductory courses for the AIS major and minor. It's a great introduction to the department.

AIS 332: American Indian History II Since 1849
5 credits, I&S/DIV
MTWTh 10:30 - 11:20
Instructor: Sasha Harmon
History of American Indians in the United States from 1840 to the present. Emphasis on relations between Indians and non-Indians, government policies, and Indian strategies for surviving and prospering as distinct peoples.

AIS 461: First Nations Government and Politics
5 credits, I&S
MW 1:30 - 3:20
Instructor: Charlotte Cote
Focuses on First Nations government and politics in Canada. Examines development of First Nations political governing structures with an introduction to the values, perspectives, concepts, and principles in Native political cultures. Explores federal Indian policy in context of First Nations strategies to become self-governing. Students can expect to develop a comprehensive understanding of the First Nations in Canada by examing their political and governing systems, and exploring the rise in First Nations political action and activism in their efforts to control their communities and their destinies.

AIS 475A: Environmental Issues on Indigenous Homelands
5 credits, I&S
TuTh 3:30 - 5:20
Instructor: Clarita Lefthand-Begay
This class will consist of an interdisciplinary analysis of the environmental problems plaguing Indigenous communities in North America. The overarching goals of this course will include an examination of the policies relevant to protecting communities from environmental pollutants occurring on the homelands of Indigenous peoples, the health implications of exposure to contaminated ecosystems, and case studies that illustrate strategies for how indigenous communities are working to address these issues. It will also aim to build critical awareness about environmental problems and explore the intersection between pollutants, human health, ecosystem services and community action. Students will be encouraged to work together to communicate environmental problems discussed in class.

AIS 475B: Northwest Native Peoples and the Flora of the Pacific Northwest
5 credits, NW/I&S
TuTh 3:30 - 5:20
Instructor: Cynthia Updegrave
Using lectures, case studies,and field trips, the course focuses on native plants, and their ethnobotanical uses, in the context of developing familiarity with the ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest, Winter is traditionally the time for being in the longhouse, story, and the making and repair of important items in this region. In addition, the course will investigate how Native People have managed ecosystems for plant resources, and the profound disruption in indigenous management regimes post-settlement, including the health implications of the loss of indigenous food resources and the resulting loss of biodiversity for ecosystems. We will connect our learning to wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ, (Intellectual House) on campus, the region's annual Tribal Canoe Journeys, and a canoe carving project to explore the many ways cultural renewal is contributing to well-being.

AIS 475C: Interrupting the Ongoing Psychological Colonization of Indigenous People
5 credits, I&S
MW 1:30 - 3:20
Instructor: Stephanie Fryberg
Description forthcoming

Please contact me at elissaw@uw.edu with any questions.

Elissa Washuta
Academic Counselor
Department of American Indian Studies
University of Washington