Native Studies Program

Kurt Hackemer, Coordinator
Department of History
East Hall, Room 207
(605) 677-5218
Kurt.Hackemer@usd.edu
nativestudies@usd.edu
www.usd.edu/nativestudies

FACULTY

Assistant Professors:

Elise Boxer, Native Studies/History, Mormon History and 19th/20th Century History
David Posthumus, Native Studies, Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology, Ethnohistory

MAJOR:

Native Studies, B.A.

DOUBLE MAJOR:

Native Studies

MINOR:

Native Studies

The Native American Studies program recognizes Indigenous peoples as the first and original people on this land and centers its curriculum on the cultures, experiences, and values of Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians and First Nations people. Grounded in Indigenous worldviews and communities, the Native American Studies Program utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to explore and engage various issues pertaining to tribal communities and peoples.

The Native American Studies Program prepares its majors and minors to work effectively with and within tribal communities, developing effective communication skills needed to establish mutually beneficial and enduring cross-cultural relationships. The knowledge and methodologies in the Native American Studies Program will give students the background and skills to work for tribal, state, and national levels of government and governance, education, law, as well as a variety of careers benefitting and unique to Indigenous communities. Native American Studies empowers students to participate in Native self-determination processes in many fields and in a variety of careers in or near Indigenous communities, with a special orientation toward effective communication, historical and cultural knowledge, and community engagement.

Instruction in Lakota language is offered through the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Students who have prior knowledge of Lakota language may be able to obtain credit by exam for one or more Lakota language courses. For more information, please consult the College of Arts and Sciences section of this catalog or the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics .