In Native Pathways Program: An Indigenous Approach to History, students will examine the history of the Americas in the time before and after European colonization. The study of history is not simply the memorization of facts but the understanding of how factual information is used to create a narrative or story about the past and how historians have come to interpret historical narratives. To know how we got here and why things are the way they are, we must examine past places, persons, things, and events and recognize how they fit into the greater tapestry of what we call “history.” Key to this is also analyzing the voices and silences in history—who is telling the story and why. Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Nations have been largely excluded from narratives about the past, whether that is about their own histories or the histories of the Americas.

In this program, students will learn how we ask questions about the past, consider various forms of evidence, and build narratives to establish what is “true” when discussing history. This will include engaging with the concept of settler colonialism, comparing and contrasting Western and Indigenous research methodologies, and applying an Indigenous lens to the past. This will also involve centering storytelling, as well as comparing Indigenous ways of knowing with Western historiography. By determining the lens through which history is transmitted, students will deliberate and seminar on issues such as revisionist history, counter-narratives, and collective memory. Students will also critically explore the cultural and methodological aspects of oral histories and traditions and the arts as viable modes of interpreting and disseminating history in addition to documents and materials authored by Native and non-Native persons for an in-depth, nuanced perspective of history.

Students are expected to attend classes with their site faculty during the week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-9:30pm and attend/participate in the NPP “House of Welcome” Longhouse Gatherings for three weekends a quarter. NPP offers a 12-credit core studies option and an option for 16 credits that includes the core studies and an additional 4 credits for either a capstone project or other program-related work.

Freshman and Sophomore students will participate in the Yellow Cedar section of the program for 12 credits only and will cover exploratory and introductory material.

Junior and Senior students will participate in the Red Cedar section of the program for 12 or 16 credits and cover more advanced material.