Minor Core II

Explores the place and status of Tribal Governments in our federal system, focusing in particular on federal policy decisions underlying various laws and statutes. The course examines ways to interpret and apply the relevant laws and explores the impact that would be result from changing the policy behind those laws.

An honors thesis is required of all the students graduating with honors. Students ordinarily sign up for this course as a two-semester sequence. The first semester the student performs research under the supervision of a faculty member; the second semester the student writes an honors thesis.

The exchange of scholarly information on important disciplinary topics, usually in a small group seminar setting with occasional lectures. The course content, as taught in any one semester, depends on student need and interest, and on the research/teaching interests of the participating faculty member. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of results through discussion, reports, reviews, and/or papers.

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.

This course will examine the social, cultural, and economic considerations of Native American warfare, including discourse on the nature of human aggression, methods and motives for war. Biological evidence will be discussed.

An introduction to tribal college and universities (TCUs) which includes a discussion of their history, mission, governance, organization, finances, characteristics, support services, roles, responsibilities, evaluation, students, personnel (faculty/staff), challenges and future issues. As a minority serving institution (MSI), the TCUs experience is analyzed and compared to other such institutions as well as mainstream.

In Mixed Media Stories, we will study novels and short stories that have been transformed into feature films. The selected stories and films are diverse in terms of genre, place of origin, and intended audience. Stories include works by Indigenous writers from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as several mainstream classic stories about Native people and issues. For each text and film pairing, we will begin by reading the text, then watch the film version for an opportunity to examine how the stories are changed/adapted to fit the audience and medium.

In this class we will learn how research is conducted -- from the generation of a research idea for your own research desires and the needs of your employer to the presentation of research results -- and you will gain practical experience that can be presented on your resume. The employer we will pick will be a Native Nation and its social research needs. For individual needs it will be the construction of a draft research project that you can use to apply for graduate school or a job. Knowing how to conceptualize a research project is very important.

This course is a survey of basic issues and concepts in natural resource management and the environment in Native communities using integrated case studies that survey all the major varieties of environmental issues in Indian Country in the 21st century. A central theme will be developing tribally-specific solutions to rebuilding the resiliency of degraded ecosystems.

This course explores critical nation-building issues confronting Indigenous peoples in North America, with a primary focus on Native peoples in the United States. The course will examine multi-dimensional settings that confront Native societies and their social, cultural, political, educational, and economic leaders. The issues to be analyzed include: economic development, politics, culture and identity; and leadership and institution-building.