Department of American Studies
Minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies
Students on Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Spring 2025 requirements NAISMIN
Requirements
The minor requires at least 15 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- Introductory Course. One (1) course:
- AMST-A 150 Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies
AMST-A 150 Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to Native American and Indigenous cultures, literature, history, arts, values, lifeways, spirituality, and social and political institutions. Focuses on global and hemispheric elements including North America.
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Intermediate Course. One (1) course:
- AMST-A 275 Indigenous Worldviews in the Americas
AMST-A 275 Indigenous Worldviews in the Americas
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- A survey of some basic aspects of indigenous lifeways in the Americas, this course introduces comparative cultural analysis, providing a foundational course for those interested in thinking about how others think and how we think about otherness. Students will examine mythology, ritual, health, art, and philosophy within the context of colonialism and globalization.
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Advanced Electives. Three (3) courses:
- ANTH-B 472 Bioanthropology of Aboriginal America
- ANTH-E 319 Native American Religions
- ANTH-E 320 Indigenous Populations of North America
- ANTH-E 321 Peoples of Mexico
- ANTH-E 322 Peoples of Brazil
- ANTH-E 327 Native Amazonians and the Environment
- ANTH-E 340 Indigenous Populations of Mexico and Central America
- ANTH-E 422 Native American and Indigenous Media
- Up to two (2) of the following:
- ANTH-L 310 Elementary Lakota (Sioux) Language I
- ANTH-L 311 Elementary Lakota (Sioux) Language II
- ANTH-L 312 Intermediate Lakota (Sioux) Language I
- ANTH-L 313 Intermediate Lakota (Sioux) Language II
- ANTH-L 320 Native American Languages
- ANTH-P 330 Historical Archaeology
- ANTH-P 350 Archaeology of Mexico
- ANTH-P 361 Archaeology of the Midwestern United States
- ANTH-P 363 North American Prehistory through Fiction
- ANTH-P 370 Archaeology of the Andes
- ANTH-X 480 Fieldwork in Archaeology
- ARTH-A 350 Topics in African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian American Art
- ARTH-A 351 Art of the South Pacific
- ARTH-A 452 Art of Pre-Columbian America
- ENG-L 364 Native American Literature
- FOLK-F 315 Latin American Folklore/Folklife/Folk Music
- FOLK-F 352 Native American Folklore/Folklife/Folk Music
- FOLK-F 353 Native American Film and Video
- HIST-A 300 Issues in United States History (Approved topics: "NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN" (TPC 69))
- HIST-J 300 Seminar In History (Approved topics: "NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS IN EARLY AMERICA" (TPC 94))
- POLS-X 490 Undergraduate Readings in Political Science (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- POLS-Y 337 Latin American Politics
ANTH-B 472 Bioanthropology of Aboriginal America
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Bioanthropological survey of past and present aboriginal inhabitants of North and South America: origins and antiquity, archaeological and ethnic relationships.
ANTH-E 319 Native American Religions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduces religions of the peoples indigenous to North America. Topics include traditional and contemporary rituals, mythology, folklore, and symbolism occurring throughout these indigenous cultures. Explores areas including art, architecture, cosmology, sustenance, trade, history, gender.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-E 320 Indigenous Populations of North America
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Ethnographic survey of culture areas from the Arctic to Panama plus cross-cultural analysis of interrelations of culture, geographical environment, and language families.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-E 321 Peoples of Mexico
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Surveys indigenous and mestizo peoples within the context of the larger nation, as well as the effects of urbanization, emigration, and globalization in contemporary Mexico.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-E 322 Peoples of Brazil
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduces contemporary Brazil while examining Brazil\'s colonial history and legacies and the political, demographic, cultural, economic, and environmental transformation of the country. Examines implications of these processes for indigenous populations, and considers current societal changes as related to racial and socioeconomic inequalities.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-E 327 Native Amazonians and the Environment
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of how native peoples in the Amazon Basin have used the environment from prehistoric times to the present. Examination of archaeological evidence, current pressures from development processes, and indigenous knowledge as the key to balancing conservation and development.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-E 340 Indigenous Populations of Mexico and Central America
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: ANTH-E 105, ANTH-E 200, ANTH-E 303, or sophomore standing
- Description
- Ethnographic survey of indigenous populations of Mexico and Central America, both historical and contemporary. Considers these populations in the context of wider political contexts and relationships.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-E 422 Native American and Indigenous Media
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of contemporary Native American and global indigenous representation and communication, including oral performance and media. Explores the poetics and politics of media and performance in the context of indigenous histories, cultures, and experiences of colonization. Examines the use of performance forms as symbolic resources in literature, film, the Internet, music and television. Addresses intersections of gender, class and race in indigenous media worlds.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ANTH-E 422 or CMCL-C 430.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-L 310 Elementary Lakota (Sioux) Language I
- Credits
- 4
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An introduction to Lakota (Sioux), a Native American language spoken on the Northern Plains of the United States. Course focuses on developing elementary reading and writing skills as well as oral fluency in the Lakota language within the context of Lakota culture.
ANTH-L 311 Elementary Lakota (Sioux) Language II
- Credits
- 4
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Continues work begun in ANTH-L 310, focusing on continued development of elementary reading and writing skills as well as oral fluency in the Lakota (Sioux) language within the context of Lakota culture.
ANTH-L 312 Intermediate Lakota (Sioux) Language I
- Credits
- 4
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of more complex Lakota grammatical structures, with emphasis on development of active reading, writing, and speaking skills.
ANTH-L 313 Intermediate Lakota (Sioux) Language II
- Credits
- 4
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of more complex Lakota grammatical structures, with emphasis on development of active reading, writing, and speaking skills.
ANTH-L 320 Native American Languages
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introductory survey of the indigenous languages of the Americas. Topics covered include history of the study of Native American languages, genetic and typological classifications, structures of selected languages, the comparative (historical) study of selected language families, and the interplay between language and culture. Diversity of Native American languages is emphasized.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-P 330 Historical Archaeology
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines archaeology in North America beginning with the long and complex history of Native American/European interactions. Considers North American social systems, interaction with and exploitation of the environment, technologies, and material culture. Theories and methods used by historical archaeologists will also be emphasized.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-P 350 Archaeology of Mexico
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Surveys the archaeology of Mexico. Traces cultural developments of indigenous peoples from the Olmec to the present day. Examines issues, controversies, and current debates in Mexican archaeology and Mexican heritage politics. Topics include the earliest villages, initial complexity, writing, craft production, urbanization, gender ideologies, religion, warfare, colonialism, and national identity.
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-P 361 Archaeology of the Midwestern United States
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- A survey of cultures and societies in the midwestern United States from the earliest human occupations until initial European contact. Material culture, sustainability, ecology, and religion are viewed through remains recovered across the Midwest, with hands-on exposure to artifacts and data.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-P 363 North American Prehistory through Fiction
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Students consider fictionalized accounts of life in prehistoric North America, written by anthropologists, Native Americans, and novelists, as a means to think critically and creatively about the past. They explore the role and place of narrative and imagination in constructions of the past and consider how authors utilize available data.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ANTH-P 370 Archaeology of the Andes
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Covers cultural change in Andean South America, including early hunters and gatherers, agriculture, the growth of regional civilizations, technological and artistic achievement, and the rise and dissolution of the Inca Empire.
ANTH-X 480 Fieldwork in Archaeology
- Credits
- 1–8 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Archaeological work directed toward field techniques: excavation and preservation of materials, surveying, photography, and cataloging. 1 credit hour per full week of fieldwork.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ANTH-P 405 or ANTH-X 480.
ARTH-A 350 Topics in African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian American Art
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Special topics in the history and study of African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian American art.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ARTH-A 350 and FINA-A 350.
ARTH-A 351 Art of the South Pacific
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Survey of the visual art traditions of Australia and the South Pacific Island groups of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Focuses on style regions, individual island styles, and the cultural and historical contexts of objects. Emphasis is on traditional arts but contemporary forms are also discussed.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ARTH-A 351 or FINA-A 351.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ARTH-A 452 Art of Pre-Columbian America
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Survey of precontact arts of the Americas south of the Rio Grande. Emphasis on sculptural, architectural, and ceramic arts of ancient Mexico and Peru.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ARTH-A 452 or FINA-A 452.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ENG-L 364 Native American Literature
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Surveys traditional and modern literature by American Indians, especially of the high plains and southwest culture areas, with particular attention to the image of the Indian in both native and white literature.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
FOLK-F 315 Latin American Folklore/Folklife/Folk Music
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Cultural and functional analysis of traditional folklore or music genres developed in the cultures of Latin America. Emphasis on origin and the diffusion of folklore, folklife, and folk music as well as the peoples.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated once when topics vary.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
FOLK-F 352 Native American Folklore/Folklife/Folk Music
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Comparative examination of various verbal, musical, and dance forms of Native American societies. Consideration of cultural systems of Native Americans within the context of general American culture.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated once when topics vary.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
FOLK-F 353 Native American Film and Video
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the study of Native American images and representations. Focuses on ethnographic, documentary, animated, and feature films from 1920 to the present. Surveying the themes of assimilation, contemporary politics, and religiosity, students will watch films, read articles, and respond to both mediums critically.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-A 300 Issues in United States History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study and analysis of selected historical issues through the whole of United States history. Topics will vary but usually cut across fields, regions, and periods.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-J 300 Seminar In History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- The refinement of students\' skills as historians; will focus on the skills of writing, interpretation, historical reasoning, discussion, and research.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic and the authorization of the history undergraduate advisor for a total of 6 credit hours.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-X 490 Undergraduate Readings in Political Science
- Credits
- 1–6 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- Consent of instructor
- Description
- Individual readings and research.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in POLS-X 490 and POLS-Y 480.
POLS-Y 337 Latin American Politics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Comparative analysis of political change in major Latin American countries, emphasizing alternative explanations of national and international developments; examination of impact of political parties, the military, labor and peasant movements, Catholic Church, multinational corporations, regional organizations, and United States on politics; public policy processes in democratic and authoritarian regimes.
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Minor GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Minor GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the minor—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Minor Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the minor.
- Minor Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 9 credit hours in the minor must be completed at the 300–499 level.
- Minor Residency. At least 9 credit hours in the minor must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
Minor Area Courses
-
Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:
- Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements at the time the course is taken—as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent—except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
- Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception
This program of study cannot be combined with the following:
- Bachelor of Arts in American Studies (AMSTBA)
- Minor in American Studies (AMSTMIN)
- Minor in the American Experience (AMEXPMIN)
Exceptions to and substitutions for minor requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.