Introduction to American Indian Studies

This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of Native American/American Indian experiences from indigenous ways of knowing. The survey will include an analysis of social, cultural, historical, religious, and artistic expressions of various indigenous American communities. Emphasis will be placed on topics which have been instrumental in shaping contemporary conditions and experiences in the United States and in Indian Country. The course will address historical roots of systemic/structural racism in a wider framework of self-determination, liberation, sovereignty, decolonization, cultural revitalization, and indigenous resurgence. Community engagement and advocacy with indigenous peoples in Ventura County will be critical in participating in an anti-racist pedagogy. Field trips may be required. Transfer credit: CSU.