Native American Studies: Home

Native American Studies Program

The specificity of the Native American situation must be understood in terms of indigeneity and the colonial forces confronting it. Any engaged understanding of Native people—historical or contemporary—must start from the fact of their prior presence as autonomous societies with relationships to the land. From this foundation follows the significance of colonialism, and particularly settler colonialism, as the primary form of domination confronted by Native peoples in ongoing struggles for justice.

Our Native American Studies program considers broadly the relationship of indigeneity and settler colonialism, foregrounding the historical contexts and constraints through which indigenous individuals and polities have expressed and continue to express themselves. Indigenous epistemologies, histories, languages, cultural texts and social practices are key arenas of analysis as we examine the unique experiences of Native Americans. Grounded in the study of history, culture, language, law and policy, the frameworks that enrich our research include comparative global indigenous studies, women and gender studies, queer studies, subaltern studies, immigrant and refugee histories, and transnational and diasporic studies. 

The Ethnic Studies Library

The Ethnic Studies Library is the departmental library of the Department of Ethnic Studies. It was established in 1997 by merging the Asian American Studies Library, the Chicano Studies Library, and the Native American Studies Library. Since the founding of the Department in 1969, the collections of these libraries grew from student interest in collecting and preserving a perspective by and for racialized communities that they saw as lacking or marginalized in other campus libraries. The specialized ethnic studies books and serials, archival collections, posters, and audio collections from those three libraries live on in a centralized space on the ground floor of Stephens Hall, a short walk from Barrows Hall. The library consists of these four collections: Asian American Studies Collection; Chicano Studies Collection; Native American Studies Collection; Comparative Ethnic Studies Collection. In addition to our collections, the ESL regularly hosts events, ESL librarians provide reference and instruction for the department and larger campus community, and takes recommendations on purchasing books in the field of Ethnic Studies.

This year the Native American Studies Librarian will be featuring the artworks of emerging Navajo/Diné artist Kyle Nash in the Native American Studies Library Guide. The goal is to bring awareness and appreciation to the art of our community. Please take some time to view his amazing art.