American Indian Studies (AIST)

AIST 101 Elementary Nez Perce I (4 credits)

General Education: Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing

Cross-listed with NEZP 101

Pronunciation, vocabulary, reading, spoken Nez Perce, and functional grammar.

AIST 204 (s) Special Topics (1-16 credits)

Credit arranged

AIST 298 Tribal Natural Resource Internship (1-4 credits)

This course is a supervised internship in an Indian community setting that provides work experience and learning opportunities in natural resource ecology and management. The course requires the development of a formal plan of activities and learning goals that must be approved by the onsite supervisor and faculty instructor.

AIST 316 American Indian History (3 credits)

General Education: American Diversity

Cross-listed with HIST 316

Course investigates Indigenous people in North America from time immemorial to present. Emphasizes Native American resilience and adaptability in the face of colonialism.

AIST 320 Native American & Indigenous Film (3 credits)

General Education: American Diversity

Examines the representation of American Indians in film from early-mid 20th century Hollywood westerns to self representations of late 20th and early 21st century films made by Native Americans. Traces changes in the cinematic depictions of Native peoples and historical and cultural reasons for those changes. Emphasizes Native-made film as extension of oral tradition, indigenous aesthetics, and sovereignty. May include international Indigenous films.

AIST 329 Contemporary North American Indians (3 credits)

General Education: American Diversity, Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing

Cross-listed with ANTH 329

Histories, cultures, and practices of contemporary North American Indians.

AIST 400 (s) Seminar (1-16 credits)

Credit arranged

AIST 403 (s) Workshop (1-16 credits)

Credit arranged

AIST 404 (s) Special Topics (1-16 credits)

Credit arranged

AIST 411 Native American Architecture (3 credits)

General Education: American Diversity

An exploration of Native American architecture in North America, including ancient, historic, and contemporary buildings and settlements within their diverse social, cultural, and physical contexts. Additional assignments required for graduate credit. (Spring only)

AIST 422 Contemporary Pacific Northwest Indians (3 credits)

General Education: American Diversity

This course is intended to impart an understanding of the vitality and rich diversity of contemporary Pacific Northwest American Indian societies, their histories, and their literatures, e. g. , in the arts and expressive culture, in governmental affairs both indigenous and external, in economics, ecological relations and natural resources, in health care, and in family, social and religious life, in oral traditions, in world views and cultural values. This understanding is inclusive of both indigenous cultural, as well as contact-historical, expressions. An understanding of Tribal sovereignty and its varied meanings is key to this outcome. ANTH 422 is cooperative: open to WSU degree-seeking students.

AIST 435 (s) Tribal Elders Series (3 credits, max 9)

Cross-listed with ANTH 321

Elders from neighboring tribes surrounding the University of Idaho will share a tribal epistemology that each tribe considers to be essential to an education of an adult. Such educational perspective may often be missing/misrepresented or misunderstood in current university pedagogy. This class will place an emphasis on contemporary indigenous voices. This course will have a subtopic heading to incorporate the possibility of having many neighboring tribes participate. Typically Offered: Fall.

AIST 445 Indigenous Ways of Knowing (3 credits)

Cross-listed with ANTH 545

The course is intended as an introduction to issues of cultural, racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity that arise in American school and society. In particular we will be looking at indigenous epistemological comparison with Western educational models. The central question for the course will be: Why is educational attainment different for different groups in society, and how does that difference relate to social stratification characteristics of the larger society? We will also try to answer other questions: What is the impact of cultural and linguistic diversity on the various institutions of society, including family, schools, and the economic system? What policies and programs have been developed in the US and other societies to deal with cultural diversities? These and other questions will be the basis for our reading and discussions Typically Offered: Fall.

AIST 453 Tribal Sovereignty and Federal Policy (3 credits)

Cross-listed with ANTH 314

This course provides an in-depth understanding of how colonial and Federal Indian Policies have impacted the lives of Tribes and their surrounding communities. Through a survey of the changing eras of policy (conquest, preRevolutionary approaches, the Marshall Trilogy, the Treaty Era, Allotment and Termination, and Self-Determination), students will learn about the forces that have shaped tribal communities, and a deeper appreciation for tribes’ efforts to restore and exercise their sovereignty. Tribal Sovereignty as it applies to land management, natural resources and community development will be a focal area. Typically Offered: Spring.

AIST 484 (s) Native American and Indigenous Literature (3 credits, max 6)

General Education: American Diversity

Cross-listed with ENGL 384

Significant texts, topics and traditions of American Indian, First Nations, and Indigenous writings in their literary and historical contexts, including the social and political circumstances out of which they arise. Emphasis on North America. Typically Offered: Varies.

Prereqs: ENGL 102

AIST 498 (s) Internship (1-16 credits)

Credit arranged Supervised internship in an Indian community setting, integrating academic study with work experience; requires formal plan of activities to be approved by the on site supervisor and assigned faculty member; a final written report will be evaluated by the assigned faculty member.

Prereqs: Permission

AIST 499 (s) Directed Study (1-16 credits)

Credit arranged