OU NAS offers a Bachelor of Arts, a minor, and a Master of Arts in Native American Studies. Our curriculum uses distinctly Indigenous perspectives to place the sovereignty of Native nations and the cultures of Native peoples at the center of academic study.
In addition to core courses in Indigenous theory and research methods, the Native American Studies curriculum currently supports intensive study in four interrelated areas of emphasis that are synthetic and interdisciplinary in nature: Tribal Governance and Policy; Indigenous Media and Arts; History and Cultural Knowledges; and Native American Languages. Coursework is, at the same time, focused and flexible. Students are encouraged to combine areas of emphasis according to their own scholarly and professional goals.
Our first degree was awarded in 1996. Since then, 325 students have graduated with either a BA, minor or MA in Native American Studies. Many of our undergraduate students pursue a second major or minor in fields such as Anthropology, Political Science, History, Psychology, Health & Exercise Science, and more.
The cutting edge NAS curriculum makes NAS graduates uniquely competitive for future jobs and graduate programs. NAS alumni have distinguished themselves in a wide range of careers some of which include: tribal government, law, health policy, filmmaking and media, historic preservation, language revitalization, and education.
Service to tribal people in their communities and nations is the foundation of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Students majoring in the field will take all of the core classes, and students minoring will take several of them. For those who want to work with and for Indigenous peoples, these courses provide an indispensable theoretical and practical structure for applied service. Coursework is built upon concepts fundamental to critical Indigenous theory, such as political and cultural sovereignty, peoplehood, relationality, self-determination, and decolonization as each has developed among many Native peoples across many historical, political, and geographical contexts; then, through their internship and capstone work, NAS students will translate their academic preparation into real-world application through work with tribal communities and governments.
This emphasis shapes connections among several branches of Native American Studies that focus on the development of an understanding of Native epistemologies or knowledge systems. Heritage languages encode many of these systems, and their development is a crucial and growing endeavor for many tribes across the nation. This course of study trains students for advanced graduate study as well as for work in key areas such as language, historic preservation, cultural preservation and revitalization, museums and archives, public history, and social justice/advocacy. With the broad approaches to several facets of Indigenous cultures available in this focus area, this emphasis cultivates a deeper understanding of Native ways of knowing, and doing that can inform any scholarly discipline or vocational pursuit.
The political systems that tribal nations must navigate in the exercise of governmental and cultural sovereignty are unique, both domestically and internationally, and require specialized preparation, which this curricular focus provides. Creative and critical thinking skills relating to the practical work of improving the material well being of tribal communities are at the heart of this concentration, as are a focus on the foundation and skills for structuring political systems and programs in a manner that is consistent with a tribal community’s particular values and traditions. These courses prepare students to work in several areas related to policy matters, including tribal and federal government service, non-governmental advocacy, tribal economic development, and more. And this emphasis also provides students with an excellent gateway, if desired, for law school, public administration, business, health, and education.
Indigenous people have increasingly taken control of how they are represented in the arts, film, literature, and media in general. This emphasis will equip students to assess critically how such representations can practically work for better or worse towards Indigenous peoples’ own goals. Students may elect to center their work in media and arts criticism, to pursue training in producing their own media and creative works, or to craft a combination of those approaches. Student who pursue this path will be well equipped for advanced graduate study. In addition, the skills acquired in this area of study translate to jobs in cultural preservation and revitalization, cultural tourism, publishing, education, fine arts, media production, film, museums, public relations, journalism, or advertising.
Visit the OU General Catalog for a full list of our permanent courses. We also regularly offer special topics courses (NAS 4970/5970) that do not show up in the catalog.
The first digit of the course number defines the course level. The second digit defines the NAS Area of Emphasis. The fourth digit defines the number of credit hours (course numbers ending in zero are variable credit).
First Digit | Course Level |
|---|---|
| 1000-2999 | Lower-level course |
| 3000-4999 | Upper-level course |
| 5000-5999 | Primarily for post-baccalaureate students |
Second Digit | Area of Emphasis |
|---|---|
| 0 | Core Course |
| 1-2 | Language, History & Cultural Knowledge |
| 3-4 | Tribal Governance & Policy |
| 5-6 | Indigenous Media |
| 9 | Special Topics |
Representation, Respect, and Responsibility
We who make up the University of Oklahoma Department of Native American Studies represent the range, complexity, and diversity of identities lived throughout Indian Country.
While many of us are members of Native communities, the academic discipline of Native American Studies is open to all. We welcome all scholars, both Native and non-Native, who come willing and prepared to contribute to our scholarly mission. All faculty are hired, evaluated, and promoted based on demonstrated qualifications in scholarly production, teaching, and service. As a public state institution bound by equal opportunity laws, the University of Oklahoma cannot and does not make such decisions based on sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, or other identity criteria.
As an academic unit, our scholarly mission focuses on tribal sovereignty, tribal nations, tribal histories and cultures, and tribal continuance. The fundamental measure of our success is our contribution—through scholarly production, teaching, and service—to the advancement and deepening of the understanding of these subjects. We believe our work must start with a deep respect for sovereign Native nations and Native communities. A critical manifestation of that respect is our representation of our own identities, Native or non-Native, in relation to those communities.
We understand, that as an academic unit within a public state institution, and thus, a unit of state government, we cannot serve as judge or arbiter of any individual’s identity. Even leaving aside the explicit legal restraints on our playing such a role, our attempting to serve as judge of any representation of an individual’s Native identity would present the same sort of colonial intrusion that has harmed Native peoples since first contact, regardless of the intention that may animate such efforts. Nevertheless, we believe that each of us, as individual scholars, is obliged to truthfully engage, personally and publicly, in such matters with the utmost honesty, integrity, and respect for sovereign Native nations and the broader Native community; furthermore, as colleagues, we expect each other to adhere to the highest ethical standards in these matters, and we subscribe to the 2015 statement of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association.
Matters of Native identity and representation are foundational subjects within our academic field. And given the particularly complex histories of the Indigenous peoples of this region, we believe the University of Oklahoma provides a uniquely appropriate place for this conversation. We embrace the collegial, respectful, and meaningful dialogue and debate of all issues relating to them.
