Native American and Indigenous Studies, B.A.

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The curriculum for the 30 credit hour Bachelor of Arts degree in Native American and Indigenous Studies will encourage students to understand and appreciate the roles of history, culture, and politics in the development of tribal world views, world views that relate to modern life and contemporary issues of concern for Native peoples. Students will be given opportunities to identify historical, cultural, and political diversity and significance in Native oral traditions and written literatures and to understand historical experiences and contemporary issues from the perspective of Native American peoples. Central to all these classes is tribal sovereignty and the shaping of that sovereignty by tribal self-determination as well as by relationships with the federal government and with the states. Students will have the chance to become familiar with at least one tribal language and inherent in this degree’s curriculum and related activities is the expectation that students and faculty will assume an active role in working with and for Indigenous communities.

Major Requirements

Foundation Classes

Foundation Classes 9 Hours Required

NAIS 1001 - Foundations in American Indian Studies Credits: 3
NAIS 1350 - American Indians in Contemporary Society Credits: 3
NAIS 2210 - North American Indians Credits: 3
NAIS 2290 - History of North American Indians Credits: 3

NAIS Coures/or Courses Corsslisted with NAIS

NAIS 1010 and NAIS 1020, First and second semester Northern Arapaho, first and second semester Eastern Shoshone, or 8 hours of another American Indian or Alaskan Native language.

NAIS 2340 - Native American Culture and Literature Credits: 3
NAIS 2345 - American Indians in Hollywood Film Credits: 3
NAIS 3000 - Plains Culture and History Credits: 3
NAIS 3100 - Tribal Literatures of the Great Plains Credits: 3
NAIS 3200 - Indigenous Peoples and the Environment Credits: 3
NAIS 3300 - Federal Indian Law Credits: 3
NAIS 4000 - Indians of Wyoming Credits: 3
NAIS 4100 - Tribal Government Credits: 3
NAIS 4020 - Internship Credits: 1-12
NAIS 4110 - Educational Foundations in American Indian Education Credits: 3
NAIS 4200 - Indigenous Communities Abroad: International Travel Credits: 4
NAIS 4340 - Natural Resource Management on Western Reservations Credits: 3
NAIS 4460 - American Indian Literature Credits: 3
NAIS 4466 - American Indian Ethnohistory Credits: 3
NAIS 4740 - Native American Languages and Cultures Credits: 3

Topics and Cross-Listed Courses

In order to provide a broader range of relevant and enriching courses, in any given year, the program in Native American and Indigenous Studies offers topics courses (NAIS 2060 or NAIS 4990) and/or courses cross-listed with other majors and departments. Any such courses may be counted towards a student’s 21 hours of required courses beyond the foundational courses.

If a student chooses to take more than one topics course in the same semester, it may require an override within the registration system. If you seek to enroll in a topics course and have trouble doing so, please contact scgsj@uwyo.edu.

Declaring an NAIS Undergraduate Major

Please complete and submit the “Change of Advisor, Major, Minor, Option/Concentration, College, and or Graduate Status” form available on the Office of the Registrar’s website.

Grade Requirements

NAIS classes applied to NAIS degrees must be passed with a grade of C or better. This policy applies to NAIS classes completed fall semester 2012 and beyond.