Catalog Description

Formerly known as SSCI 45
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: In-depth study of American Indian cultures and the impact of state and federal laws pertaining to tribal sovereignty and self-governance. Covers the effects of and resistance to colonization and cultural appropriation upon American Indian cultures and religions. Students gain a practical understanding of the legal, political and cultural challenges faced by American Indian tribal nations in our own region and across the country. (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Identify and analyze key instances and perspectives in the history and cultural development of Native Americans.
  • CSLO #2: Explain specific government policies; analyze and assess the policies in the context of institutionalized racism; synthesize those analyses and apply them to identify and evaluate potential bias and racism within the federal government.
  • CSLO #3: Analyze and examine the relevance of specific ways that Native American culture, religion, society, and policy impact one another.
  • CSLO #4: Describe historical and contemporary trends and instances within Federal, State and Tribal governance, including treaties and the application of constitutional law.
  • CSLO #5: Evaluate the intersectional and transformative aspects of practices of inclusion and equity, and the practices and movements to build a diverse, multi-ethnic, and just society.

Effective Term

Fall 2023

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

1. Analyze and articulate concepts such as race and racism, racialization, ethnicity, equity, ethno-centrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, self determination, liberation, decolonization, sovereignty, imperialism, settler colonialism, and anti racism as analyzed in Native American/American Indian Studies.
2. Apply theory and knowledge produced by American Indian Tribal communities to describe the critical events, histories, cultures, intellectual traditions, contributions, lived experiences and social struggles with a particular emphasis on agency and group-affirmation.
3. Explain, analyze and assess the impact of the European invasion on indigenous cultures and religion applying theory and knowledge produced by American Indian communities to describe these events and histories.
4. Identify examples as well as explain and evaluate the impact of ethnocentric ideas and behaviors and the ways they influence government policy.
5. Critically review how struggle, resistance, racial and social justice, solidarity, and liberation, as experienced and enacted by Native Americans are relevant to current and structural issues such as communal, national, international, and transnational politics as, for example, in settler colonialism and tribal sovereignty.
6. Identify and explain specific government policies; analyze and assess the policies in the context of institutionalized racism; synthesize those analyses and apply them to identify and evaluate potential bias and racism within the federal government.
7. Identify practices of inclusion, empathy and equity which benefit Native American students, communities and tribes; evaluate the intersectional and transformative aspects of those practices and discuss how they relate to the challenges inherent in a multi-ethnic society.
8. Explain, identify cultures and religious beliefs, analyze and examine the relevance of specific ways that Native American culture, religion, society, and policy impact one another.
9. Describe the relationship between the federal government and constitution, federally and non-federally recognized tribal governance, and the California state government and constitution; explain and analyze the historical and contemporary trends within federal, state and tribal governmental interactions; identify, describe and assess specific issues in the application and interaction of these diverse domains of governance.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Ethnic Studies
    • AA/AS - Multicultural Studies
    • AA/AS - Social Sciences
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - D3 Ethnic Studies
    • CSUGE - F Ethnic Studies
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 4 Soc./Behav Sciences
      • IGETC - 7 Ethnic Studies

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Classroom Discussions
      • Example: Classroom discussions should be frequently used in order to not only assess students’ comprehension of the course materials, but also to identify student interests, connect those interests with course materials and further motivate student learning. Again, all of the objectives could be assessed in this way. One important example would be for students to read an article or a book chapter about institutional racism (Objectives 1 and 2) and then to come to class to discuss what institutional racism means from their own perspective, why it matters and how it might be diminished or eliminated (Objective 2). Classroom discussions will be evaluated based upon a rubric or checklist which requires the inclusion of accurate information as well as using course materials to develop a reasonable argument.
    • Essay Examinations
      • Example: Students may be assessed using essay examinations which address comprehension, critical examination or application of course materials. Essay examinations may be used to assess any of the course objectives. For example, an essay might ask students to identify and discuss the impacts of the diseases which have affected Native American nations (Objective 3). Another example might require students to use course materials to evaluate the impact of European invasion on specific indigenous cultures and religions (Objective 8). Essays will be evaluated using rubrics which ensure that students address course material, include accurate evidence and develop a thoughtful and reasonably compelling argument.
    • Objective Examinations
      • Example: Objective examinations can be used to measure the comprehension of course material and assigned readings. For example, reading quizzes may be assigned which require students to identify various Indian nations and match those nations with specific information about their cultures and regions (Objective 8) or to demonstrate recognition and understanding of specific government policies (Objective 6). Objective examinations will be evaluated based on the accuracy of understanding reflected in the examination responses. Example-What was the purpose of the Dawe's Allotment Act?
    • Problem Solving Examinations
      • Example: Problem solving examinations can also be used in order to get students to consider the ideas and information from the course in more practical and relevant situations. For example, after reading articles meant to foster empathy among all groups within a multi-ethic society (Objective 7), students will then identify and evaluate the main arguments and discuss how they can be effectively used to generate sympathy in a specifically Native American context. Such argumentative assignments will be evaluated using a rubric that is based on basic academic standards of argumentation which require evidence, logic and drawing upon support from course materials.
    • Projects
      • Example: Projects are an ideal way to encourage students to synthesize and apply ideas, information and approaches from the course. Student projects can pertain to every objective above. Examples may be students who identify and explain a policy or law specific to Native American peoples and tribes, to then examine their relationship to ethnocentric thinking, and then evaluate the current relevance and impact of those policies and laws (Objective 1). Projects will be evaluated upon a rubric which specifically indicates the various required elements of the project, such as including accurate information and evidence from beyond the course materials, using approaches and concepts found in the course to analyze and assess the information/evidence gathered, a logical and thoughtful presentation of findings as well as requiring a discussion of the importance/relevance of the overall project and findings.

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. Introductory lecture in which the professor provides an overview in words and visual aids which compares Native American traditional cultures and religions in response to the impact of the European invasion. The lecture is then followed by a student quick write about a specific prompt requesting students to recall specific ideas/information and/or express perspectives and formulate arguments pertaining to Objectives 1, 2 and
    3. With the professor's guidance, the class examines a brief article or watches a short journalistic video which addresses the impact of ethnocentric ideas and behaviors upon Native Americans and how they have come to influence government policy (Objective 1). The professor then provides a brief review of course concepts and examples which might pertain to the situation addressed in the article or video. The class then discusses the issue while being encouraged by the professor to link statements to course concepts and materials. Students might then be assigned a critical thinking essay in relation to one of the key issues addressed in the discussion.

    Distance Learning

    1. The professor posts and assigns a particular article for the class to download and read. In this instance, the article might pertain to Objective 3 and address the current trends in law and policy for California Tribes. The students are provided a list of critical thinking questions prior to reading the article and are then asked to respond to the questions on the online discussion boards. When the class convenes onsite the professor provides a brief lecture with the intent to clarify important issues and convey additional contextual information. The students are encouraged to ask questions and formulate arguments drawing on course materials. The professor may assign a critical thinking essay pertinent to the article, critical thinking questions, lecture and discussion topics to be completed at the end of the class session or to be submitted at the next class session.
    2. To address Objective 7,8, the professor plans a trip to the Maidu Museum and Historic Site or another local gallery or museum hosting an exhibition pertaining to Native American arts. Students are asked to identify a compelling piece of contemporary and ideally local Native American art, to record the biographical information from the display and any additional information available from the museum. Students are then asked to further research the artist they selected online, to post information and images to the canvas site and engage in discussions about the art they find with peers and professor. Students may then either write a letter of appreciation to the artist which draws upon ideas and information from the course or the student may create a poster board with images and information to share with the class during an onsite session.
    3. Students download and read a peer-reviewed research report which addresses how disease affected the Americas and how that relates to the emphasis on the change of religious beliefs. (Objective 8). Students are then asked to take a short quiz assessing comprehension of the main ideas and important information in the report. Students are then expected to post a brief preliminary response to the report on the canvas discussion boards and then are allowed to post responses to their peers. Each student then writes a short response to the research report drawing upon ideas and information gained from additional outside investigation as well as in exchanges with students and the professor on the discussion boards.
    4. The professor records an audio/visual lecture and makes it available to stream or download for the students. This particular lecture might pertain to Objective 7 and attempt to promote the development of empathy among all groups within a multi-ethnic society. Students are then asked to read two assigned articles providing contrasting perspectives. Students are then asked to use ideas and information from other course materials to evaluate each article and formulate an argument in favor and/or against one or the other.
    5. Professor requires students to attend a Powwow or Big Time - observe and learn cultural etiquette and practices and report back to their instructor with a presentation and/or reflection paper.

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    Reading Assignments

    1. Students are assigned a text chapter or article which examines the relationship between the State of California and Native Californian tribal governments. Students fill out a structured reading guide in which they record critical details within specific examples of both positive and negative interactions between the State of California and Native Californian tribes. Students then take a quiz which assesses comprehension of the reading as well as understanding of the key issues in state and tribal governmental relations. (Objectives 2, 3 and 6) 2. Students read a chapter of Steven Pevar's The Rights of Indians and Tribes which addresses both the commonalities and diversities of tribal constitutions and how they structure the relationship between Native American peoples and their tribal governments. Students also read a chapter from Mona Field’s California Government and Politics Today and identify important aspects of the California constitution and how it structures relationships between the State of California and its diverse populations. Students then write a comparative essay which examines and assesses the similarities and differences between state and tribal constitutions as well as state and tribal governance. (Objective 6, 7, 8 and 9)

    Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

    1. Students may be assigned group assignments which require students to elucidate fundamental principles of NAGPRA and its impacts on specific tribal nations. (Objectives 5 and 9) 2. Students may be required to complete short critical thinking and writing assignments which require students to explain and apply ideas and approaches from the course material to analyze and evaluate specific Federal policies. (Objective 1,2,9)

    Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

    Students may be required to complete research papers, service learning projects, academic posters or multi-media presentations that will include original in-depth research into the affects of colonialism and treaties upon specific Native American tribal nations. (Objectives 1-9)

    Required Materials

    • Forgotten Tribes, Unrecognized Indians and the Federal Acknowledgment Process
      • Author: Mark Edwin Miller
      • Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
      • Publication Date: 2006
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The Rights of Indians and Tribes
      • Author: Steven Pevar
      • Publisher: Southern Illinois Univ Press
      • Publication Date: 2012
      • Text Edition: 4th
      • Classic Textbook?: Yes
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Ka'm-t'em - A Journey Toward Healing
      • Author: Kisahan Lara-Cooper and Walter J. Lara Sr.
      • Publisher: Great Oak Press
      • Publication Date: 2019
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Red Earth, White Lies-Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact
      • Author: Vine Deloria Jr
      • Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
      • Publication Date: 1997
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?: Yes
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Taking Charge: Native American Self-Determination and Federal Indian Policy, 1975–1993
      • Author: George Pierre Castile
      • Publisher: University of Arizona Press
      • Publication Date: 2015
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.