Native American and Indigenous Studies (Minor)

Department Website

Program Description

New York City is an Indigenous space. Even the original name of this island, Manahahtaan, reflects its Indigeneity—this is a Munsee word describing the hickory trees clustered at its southern tip. Today, New York City has the largest urban population of Native American and Indigenous residents in the United States.

Native American and Indigenous studies (NAIS) is an interdisciplinary field that draws on research in many disciplines across the College of Arts and Science, from the humanities to the social and natural sciences. Students minoring in NAIS explore the histories, cultures, and politics of Indigenous populations both within the Americas and beyond by taking courses in a wide array of departments, including but not limited to anthropology, art history, Caribbean and Latin American studies, creative writing, English, environmental studies, global public health, history, music, politics, public policy, and social and cultural analysis.

The five-course Native American and Indigenous studies minor introduces students to the main questions and debates in the field. It broadly educates students while also promoting student and faculty scholarship about the complexity and diversity of the cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples in the Americas and around the world. The minor encourages students to understand and assess the unique relationships between Indigenous people and governments. It asks students to analyze the contributions of Indigenous peoples to global society as well as the difficulties confronting Indigenous peoples and tribal nations. Finally, it provides students with foundational knowledge to assist them in finding innovative solutions to any number of challenges facing Indigenous populations worldwide.

Minor Declaration

To request declaration of a minor, CAS students should visit the host department. To request declaration of a cross-school minor, CAS students should complete the online Minor Application available in their Albert Student Center. Students may also use the Minor Application in Albert to request cancellation of a CAS or cross-school minor.

Program Requirements

The minor in Native American and Indigenous studies requires the completion of five 4-credit courses (20 credits) with a grade of C or better (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count) as outlined below. Students may not use Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or any other advanced standing credit by examination to complete the requirements of the minor. Students may petition the faculty director of the minor to count courses that are not already approved if they are thematically relevant to NAIS, but no course petition is guaranteed.

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Required Courses		Credits
ANTH-UA/HIST-UA/SCA-UA 747	Introduction to Native American Studies	4
Select four additional courses from the approved list of courses. 1		16
Total Credits		20

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One of which must address Native American or Indigenous communities in a historical context. Courses must be approved by the NAIS Director and may be petitioned for credit. For more information, please email history.undergrad@nyu.edu.

Policies

Program Policies

Minor Policies

• Courses graded Pass/Fail do not count toward the minor.
• Students may count up to two Indigenous language courses toward the minor.
• Students may double count up to two NAIS minor courses toward their major or another minor, so long as each department or program agrees.
• Students may not use Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or any other advanced standing credit by examination to complete the requirements of the minor.

Minor Petitions

Students may petition the director as follows:

• To count one College Core Curriculum course toward the minor (see list of approved courses).
• To count one related internship course toward the minor.
• To count one Gallatin course (and only one) toward the minor.
• To count a course that does not focus on NAIS but is relevant to a student’s academic interest in the field. For example, if a student wishes to focus on gender and sexuality in Native American and/or Indigenous communities, the director might allow the student to count one course in gender and sexuality studies toward the minor.

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

College of Arts and Science Policies

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.