American Indian Studies

College of Ethnic Studies

Dean: Dr. Grace Yoo

Department of American Indian Studies

Ethnic Studies and Psychology Building, Room 103
Phone: (415) 405-3928
Chair: Dr.  Joanne Barker

Program Scope of American Indian Studies

The Department of American Indian Studies educational mission and objectives have a special responsibility to Native peoples of California and the United States. California is the land on which the University and department rest; CSU is a public institution in the United States education system. Therefore, significant aspects of the program and curriculum focus on Natives of California, US-Native politics, and North American Indian cultures with the aim of preparing students to work with Native groups and urban communities in California and the United States. The program also includes an international comparative perspective and coalitional politics with Native peoples of U.S.-occupied territories and, more broadly, within the Americas and the Pacific. It balances classroom education with an active community participatory learning component. Therefore, it best prepares students for going on to do graduate work or a number of different careers with Native peoples not only in California but internationally.

Community Service Learning

Many courses within the major provide a Community Service Learning (CSL) option, including AIS 205 and AIS 460. This option allows students to integrate classroom education with community participatory learning. Students are enrolled in an AIS core or elective course plus AIS 694 and work with an organization approved by the department for 15-45 hours over the course of the semester (depending on the units). AIS 694 is entirely online, with requirements that include short written assignments and a book review. Organizations with which students have served in the past include the American Indian Child Resource Center, California Indian Legal Services, The Cultural Conservancy, International Indian Treaty Council, and the Native American Health Center.

Career Outlook

An American Indian Studies major provides a diverse foundation of knowledge and skills that can be applied to a number of careers. American Indian Studies alumni have and can anticipate securing employment in agricultural and pastoral enterprises, environmental and cultural rights organizations, ethnography and cultural programs, health care and social work, media and communications industries, museums and cultural centers, teaching, tribal businesses and government, the traditional arts, and federal and state agencies like the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Indian Health Services, National and State Park Services, Title IX Indian Education Program, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Professor

Joanne Barker (2000), Professor in American Indian Studies. Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz.

Associate Professor

Robert Keith Collins (2006), Associate Professor in American Indian Studies. Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles.

Assistant Professor

Baligh Ben Taleb (2022), Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies. Ph.D. University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

Lecturers

Brandau, Cassleman-Hontalas, Dougherty, Gomez, Kuhn, Madril, Steward

Major

Minor

Explanation of Course Descriptions, Symbols, and Terms

AIS 100 Introduction to American Indian Studies (Units: 3)

Introduction to American Indian Studies: the histories, cultures, identities, and contemporary issues of the indigenous American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian groups. Topics range from colonialism, racialization, social formation, identity politics, and environmental issues to law and politics.

Course Attributes:

  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 103 Introduction to Pacific Islander Studies (Units: 3)

Examination of historic and contemporary issues of and experiences related to Pacific Islander communities in the United States and across the Pacific Islander diaspora.
(This course is offered as RRS 103 and AIS 103. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • U.S. History
  • D2: Social Sciences: US Hist.
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AIS 150 American Indian History in the United States (Units: 3)

The major indigenous cultures residing in the present U.S. Exploration of regional groups, structures, worldviews, and major events that took place between the first Americans and new Americans from contact to 1930.

Course Attributes:

  • U.S. History
  • D2: Social Sciences: US Hist.
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 160 Survey of Native California (Units: 3)

Native California from origin to contemporary times. Comparative data, adaptive strategies, and relations between the indigenous populations and European and Anglo-American contact.

Course Attributes:

  • GE-F: Ethnic Studies
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Social Justice

AIS 162 American Indian Oral Literature (Units: 3)

Traditional Indian literatures: legend, origin stories, pre-contact poetry, oratory, and stories of the people. Forms, styles, images, and themes used by selected tribes to express the experience of their daily lives.

Course Attributes:

  • GE-F: Ethnic Studies

AIS 205 American Indians and U.S. Laws (Units: 3)

The legal history that has developed between the earliest settlers and the existing peoples of the American continent. Legal and social concepts that the settling communities had toward Indian Nations. [CSL may be available]

Course Attributes:

  • U.S. Govt CA State Local Govt
  • D3: Social Sciences: US CA Gov
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 230 Urban Indians (Units: 3)

Comparative examination of American Indian experiences in urban areas, in distinction from reservation and rural life.

Course Attributes:

  • D1: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 235 American Indians: Image and Issues in the Mass Media (Units: 3)

Recurring images and treatment of American Indians, especially in film, television, advertising, popular literature, and commercial arts. Cultural, economic, social, and political forces that influence image and artistic expression.

Course Attributes:

  • GE-F: Ethnic Studies
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 250 American Indian Populations and Colonial Diseases (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Category I or II placement for QR/Math or satisfactory completion of ELM requirement, or MATH 70 or ESM 70 with a grade of C or better. Category III or IV placement for QR/Math or students who have not passed MATH 70 or ESM 70 with a C or better must be concurrently enrolled in MATH 122 or equivalent.

A historical overview of the relationships between American Indian populations changes and colonial diseases experienced by major indigenous cultures and peoples residing within the present-day boundaries of the United States from contact through 1930. Develops critical quantitative reasoning skills for understanding processes of American Indian population change (i.e., birth, deaths, immigration, and emigration) and how diseases of contact such as cholera, smallpox, influenza, treponemal infections, etc. impacted population demise and recovery.

AIS 300 American Indian Studies Research Methodologies (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to American Indian Studies majors and minors; AIS 100 (may be taken concurrently); or permission of the instructor.

Overview of Indigenous studies theories and methods used in the gathering and study of data on historical and contemporary American Indian nations, tribal groups, communities, individuals, and literature. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

Course Attributes:

  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AIS 310 American Indian Religion and Philosophy (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Religious and philosophical aspects of the lifestyles of certain plains tribes in what is now called the U.S. Ancient religion, visions, and deity structures and how they have survived and have been modified by the impact of European cultures.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AIS 320 American Indian Music (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Relationships among music, cultural perspectives and collective and individual selves of American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 325 American Indian Art (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Contemporary and comparative examination of American Indian art, including American Indian theories of art and connections of art with other forms of cultural expression such as novels, poetry, songs, dances, and oral histories.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 330 American Indian Law (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to Native epistemologies, worldviews, social structures, and institutions relating to customary or "traditional" law, governance, justice, and ethics; overview of customary perspectives and practices; examination of contemporary revitalization efforts to restructure colonial paradigms of Native governance.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 350 Black Indians in the Americas (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examines factors impacting on multiracial identity formation among Native communities throughout the Americas with a specific focus on Black Indians. Explores concepts and theories regarding blood quantum, sovereignty, and land rights, and the social, legal, and political understanding of mixed-race Native Americans.
(This course is offered as AIS 350, AFRS 350, and LTNS 355. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

AIS 400 American Indian Education (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Content, curriculum, and structure of education in reservation and off-reservation schools. Problems, goals, innovative restructuring, and proposals for the future.

Course Attributes:

  • E1 LLD Pre-Fall 2019
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AIS 410 Perspectives of Native California Indians (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Cultural and historical perspective of California Indians. Contemporary problems, issues, and developments involving American Indians, both urban and rural.

Course Attributes:

  • GE-F: Ethnic Studies
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Environmental Sustainability

AIS 420 Native Genders and Feminism (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to Native genders and feminist theories, methods, and activism as developed within the United States and Canada with an overview of the field with a focus on emergent scholarship and political issues.
(This course is offered as AIS 420 and WGS 420. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 433 Pacific Islanders in Film: Re-Presenting Oceania Through an Indigenous Lens (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or consent of the instructor.

Exploration of the notions of authenticity versus intention within films made by and about Pacific Islanders in the diaspora. Investigation of the varying visual narratives, contemporary issues, and re-presentations of Pacific Islanders in film.
(This course is offered as RRS 433 and AIS 433. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

AIS 440 Native Sexualities and Queer Discourse (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

A comparative, interdisciplinary, and socio-historical analysis of Native sexualities and gender constructions from indigenous centered perspectives. Examination of the complexity of Native sexualities, gender formations, and queer indigenous identity movements.
(This course is offered as AIS 440, SXS 440, and WGS 440. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AIS 450 American Indian Science (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or consent of the instructor.

American Indian sciences, theory and practice, traditional herbology, agricultural and environmental sciences, methods of food production, preservation, and preparation. Indian architectural modes and thermal clothing used by tribes from six regions of North America.

AIS 460 Power and Politics in American Indian History (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Modern political and social issues arising from U.S. American Indian relations: land, water, civil, and tribal rights with underlying historical and attitudinal differences behind these problems. [CSL may be available]

Course Attributes:

  • U.S. History
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 470 American Indian Ethnicity: Problems in Identity (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examination of ethnicity focusing on the history and theory surrounding American Indian tribal and Pan-Indian identity formations within the nation-state and reservation contexts.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 500 Language and Cultural Systems of North American Indians (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: AIS 100 or permission of the instructor.

The relationship between American Indian language and culture, including topics and skills related to language learning and the historical conditions of cultural retention and revitalization efforts.
(This course is offered as AIS 500 and ANTH 500. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

AIS 520 Before the Wilderness: American Indian Ecology (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Examines the environmental thought, ecological worldviews, and resource management practices of North American native peoples. Reviews how European and American colonists justified the expropriation of native lands, and the different perceptions of "land" and its connections to major ecological and cultural change.

AIS 535 American Indian Film (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.

Examines how Native peoples have used film as a means of reclaiming and representing their histories, cultures, and identities. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 550 American Indians in Contemporary U.S. History (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Overview of the historical lived realities of major indigenous cultures and people residing within the present day boundaries of the United States from 1930 through 2000. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

Course Attributes:

  • U.S. History
  • GE-F: Ethnic Studies
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 560 Modern Creative and Performing Arts (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; AIS 100*; or permission of the instructor.

Individual and group performance of creative and performing arts in American Indian communities. Fine art, oral poetry, dramatic modes, and media. Adaptation of traditional modes to modern situations.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AIS 570 State Terrorism and Native Abolition (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Examine the intersection of race, gender, and class in the context of the history of anti-terrorism laws and policies both domestically and internationally. Explore how Native peoples have experienced and struggled against state regimes of national security and social stability. Highlighting how states use terrorism to control Native lands, resources, labor, and Native forms of opposition and the unique worldviews that inform that opposition.

AIS 680 American Indian Studies Senior Seminar (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: AIS 300 and AIS 694.

Directed guidance leading to the completion of a senior research project based on intensive study of a topic or problem related to American Indian peoples. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

AIS 685 Projects in the Teaching of American Indian Studies (Units: 1-4)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; permission of the instructor.

Academic service-learning practicum/internship experience as an undergraduate instructional aide. Participation in the teaching of a regular instructionally-related class. Limited to undergraduate students only. (Students may earn a maximum of 4 units toward the baccalaureate degree for any course(s) numbered 685 regardless of discipline.)

AIS 694 Community Service Learning (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Community service learning support course. May be repeated for a total of 6 units. [CSL may be available]

AIS 699 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Supervised, individual study of a particular problem in American Indian studies. Students may select the supervisor and must state the problem, method of data gathering, and method of data analysis. May be repeated for a total of 6 units.

AIS 701 Seminar in American Indian Studies (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Issues in the study of American Indians: understanding of the Indian tribes and nations as sovereign political entities; political, economic, and social developments of self-determination and its implications for Indian tribes.