Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
NAISD012.
Course Title (CB02)
Ethnic Studies and the Historical Experiences of Native Americans
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
This ethnic studies course covers Native American history from an indigenous perspective, from pre-Columbian contact to the present. Students will examine Native American societies with attention to the impact of contact upon indigenous cultures and societies in the United States, analyzing settler colonialism and structural discrimination, including an examination of Native responses to contact and colonization. Students will analyze Native American continuity and change in cultures as a result of historical and contemporary social conditions and the continued relationship with the federal government. Emphasis is placed upon the struggles for legal, political, cultural, and religious sovereignty.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is UC and CSU transferable and meets a general education requirement for ý, CSU GE, and IGETC. This course belongs on the Intercultural Studies A.A. degree. The course examines the experience of Native Americans, both pre- and post- contact. It offers students a unique perspective of Native Americans in history, allowing for an examination of the impact of contact on Native peoples in the United States.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Formerly Statement
(Formerly ICS D043.)

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
ý GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GDXý GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
CGFXCSU GE Area F - Ethnic StudiesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
IG7XIGETC Area 7 - Ethnic StudiesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Field observation and field trips

Small group activities and exercises

Assignments

  1. Critical reading of journal/magazine, text, supplemental, and library resource materials.
  2. Written Assignments
    1. Essay and short answer identification quizzes requiring summarization and interpretation.
    2. Written assessments demonstrating insightful synthesis and integration of assigned readings.
    3. Reporting formulated conclusions of in-class discussions and collaborative work.
    4. Note-taking from primary and secondary American Indian Studies historical source materials.
    5. Research on local organizations that support the goals of Native American groups, and engage in community activities.
    6. Collaborative text-based written assignments.
  3. Oral Assignments: Participation in classroom discussions to examine key concepts, research project topics, assess students' skills in interpreting and debating relevant issues and other timely topics.
  4. Visual Assignments: View videotapes and cultural activities demonstrating comprehension of the "message" and the ability to analyze and critique the quality of the media viewed.
  5. Participation in American Indian community cultural events and classroom participation.
  6. Research Project: Guided research project that assesses a topic central to American Indian tribal studies.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Reading Activities: student mastery evaluated through written and oral activities requiring synthesis, analysis and interpretation of key concepts of the course of study.
  2. Writing Activities. Quizzes: Essays assess student ability to take a historic view of past events with the purpose of evaluating the importance of the people and events of the past. Essays measure student ability to compare and evaluate phenomena, synthesize and revise historical data to support their own conclusions. Evaluation (to determine ability to accurately summarize and synthesize information) of note-taking using primary and secondary source materials for an individual research project to interpret a body of relevant information besides the required and recommended course texts.
  3. Oral Activities: Assessment of individual student contributions to class discussions, based on quality of synthesis, analysis and interpretation of key concepts of the course of study.
  4. Visual Activities: Written evaluation, demonstrating comprehension of the message of visual content and ability to analyze and critique what was viewed.
  5. Participation: Evaluation (based on demonstrated comprehension, summary, and/or critique) of student reviews of experiential American Indian community cultural events. Assessment of participation and contributions during classroom discussions and activities, based on quality of synthesis, analysis and interpretation of key concepts of the course of study.
  6. Research project: Research project demonstrates student growth in interpreting and synthesizing other than course required readings, and the ability to critically appraise historical research topics and evaluate for relevancy of research materials.
  7. Examinations: Essay and objective midterm and comprehensive final examinations that are designed to evaluate retention and synthesis.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials:
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Tanya Maria Golash-BozaRace and Racisms: A Critical ApproachOxford University Press2021/3rd Edition
Roxanne Dunbar-OrtizAn Indigenous Peoples' History of the United StatesBeacon Press2015
Suzanne MethotLegacy: Trauma, Story, and Indigenous HealingECW Press2019
Mark NicholasNative Voices: Sources in the Native American PastRoutledge2017
Colin G. CallowayFirst Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian HistoryBedford/St. Martin's2018/6th Edition

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Native Diasporas: Indigenous Identities and Settler Colonialism in the Americas
American Indian Identity: Citizenship, Membership, and Blood (Native America: Yesterday and Today)
Native Historians Write Back: Decolonizing American Indian History
Indian Resilience and Rebuilding: Indigenous Nations in the Modern American West
Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
We Are the Land: A History of Native California
An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873
Major Problems in American Indian History
Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875–1928
Pen and Ink Witchcraft: Treaties and Treaty Making in American Indian History
The History of the American Indians
Atlas of Indian Nations
American Indian Women
American Indian Law in a Nutshell
American Indians in U.S. History
100 + Native American Women Who Changed the World

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Examine the development of Native American Studies as an academic discipline within Ethnic Studies and engage in critical analyses of the nature of historiography and Western historical scholarship regarding the indigenous cultures of the Americas and from the perspective of Native Americans
  • Examine the diversity of Native Nations
  • Apply theory and knowledge produced by Native American communities to describe the critical events, histories, cultures, intellectual traditions, contributions, lived experiences, and social struggles of those groups with a particular emphasis on agency and group affirmation
  • Review criticallyÂhow 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, reparations, settler-colonialism, multiculturalism, language policies
  • Analyze criticallyÂthe intersection of race and racism as they relate to class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, ability, tribal citizenship, sovereignty, language, and/or age in Native American communities

CSLOs

  • Analyze and articulate concepts such as race/ethnicity, racialization, ethnocentrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, settler colonialism, decolonization, self-determination, sovereignty, and anti-racism within the context of Native American Studies.

  • Apply theory and knowledge produced by Native American communities to describe critical events, histories, cultures, contributions, lived-experiences, and social struggles, emphasizing the effects on agency and group-affirmation and identity.

  • Analyze critically the intersection of race and racism as they relate to class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, tribal citizenship, and sovereignty in Native American communities.

  • Review critically how struggle, resistance, racial and social justice, solidarity, and liberation, as experienced by Native Americans, are relevant to current and structural issues, including tribal sovereignty, repatriation, religious freedom, and identity.

Outline

  1. Examine the development of Native American Studies as an academic discipline within Ethnic Studies and engage in critical analyses of the nature of historiography and Western historical scholarship regarding the indigenous cultures of the Americas and from the perspective of Native Americans
    1. Impact of Civil Rights Movement and formation of Ethnic Studies programs on the development of the Red Power Movement, and Native American contributions to the development of Ethnic Studies programs
      1. San Francisco State College strike and the impact on the development of the Red Power Movement and the Occupation of Alcatraz
      2. Subsequent contributions to the development of Native American Studies programs.
    2. Engage in critical analyses of the nature of historiography and Western historical scholarship regarding the indigenous cultures of the Americas and from the perspective of Native Americans.
      1. Nature of historiography
        1. As written reconstruction of the past
        2. As the discipline reflects the interests, perspectives, gender, and cultural biases of the historian
      2. Use of Western and Native American primary sources
    3. Western historical-intercultural study of the indigenous cultures of the Americas
      1. Development of Western historiography
      2. Development of Intercultural Studies
      3. Major intercultural approaches to the study of indigenous cultures of the Americas
    4. Native American centered study of indigenous cultures of the Americas
      1. Emic versus etic views of tribal cultures
      2. Diachronic and synchronic views of tribal cultures
      3. "Indian perspectives" of American history and the development of Native American Studies as an academic field of study
  2. Examine the diversity of Native Nations
    1. Theories of origin, traditional Native American creation/origin accounts; migration accounts
    2. Culture stages in North America: Paleo-Indian stage (Sandia, Clovis, Folsom, Old Cordilleran), Protoarchaic (Plano and Desert), Archaic, Formative-Woodlands (Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian), and Southwest (Mogollon, Hohokam, Anasazi)
    3. Cultural diversity of North American indigenous cultures by geographic cultural area, linguistic associations, and history: representative groups, political and social structures, dwellings, subsistence, religions, life cycle, the initial encounter with Europeans by the indigenous peoples of the Southwest, Plains, Woodlands, California, Great Basin, Plateau, and Northwest Coast.
    4. Native American cultures in history: technology, economy, sociopolitical organization, population and territory, war, trade and diplomacy, traditional religions and culture change of the Northeast, Plains, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest Coast, California, Great Basin, Plateau, and Northwest Coast cultural areas: 1600 to the present.
  3. Apply theory and knowledge produced by Native American communities to describe the critical events, histories, cultures, intellectual traditions, contributions, lived experiences, and social struggles of those groups with a particular emphasis on agency and group affirmation
    1. Analyze tribal cultural changes, conflicts, accommodations, and resistance
      1. The Colonial Period, 1600-1783: Major European powers: impetus and impact
        1. England
        2. Spain
        3. France
        4. Netherlands
      2. The Early National Period, 1783-1860
        1. Indian Removal Act of 1830
        2. Supreme Court rulings: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia
        3. "Manifest Destiny" and American Expansion: Indian resistance
      3. Resistance, Reservations, and Allotments, 1850-1943
        1. Treaty-making
        2. Development and implementation of reservation policy
        3. Homestead Act
        4. Development and implementation of the allotment policy
          1. Dawes Act
          2. Burke Act
      4. Reorganization of Indian Country, 1929-1960s
        1. Native American reform and the "Indian New Deal"
          1. Meriam Report
          2. Wheeler-Howard Act
        2. Indian Claims Commission Act 1946
      5. Development and implementation of Termination Policy
        1. House Concurrent Resolution 108 1952
        2. Urban experience and pan-Indianism
        3. Public Law 280
    2. Analyze impacts of ethnocentrism/Eurocentrism, settler colonialism, white supremacy, decolonization, self-determination, sovereignty, and anti-racism on tribal communities and tribal identities.
  4. Review criticallyhow 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, reparations, settler-colonialism, multiculturalism, language policies
    1. Native American self-determination and sovereignty: struggle, resistance, liberation, and empowerment, 1940s-present
      1. Indian Civil Rights Act 1968
      2. Indian Self-Determination Act 1975
      3. Indian Child Welfare Act 1977
      4. American Indian Religious Freedom Acts 1978 & 1994
      5. The Native American Languages Act 1990
      6. Native American Graves and Repatriation Act 1990
    2. The Twenty-First Century
      1. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
      2. Nuclear Waste Disposal and oil pipelines
      3. Treaty Rights: hunting, fishing, water, mining
  5. Analyze criticallythe intersection of race and racism as they relate to class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, ability, tribal citizenship, sovereignty, language, and/or age in Native American communities
    1. Establish and identify changes in Native American gender roles (political and socio-cultural roles of men and women in tribal societies of the Americas), continuity, and resultant change due to Western intrusion, oppression, influences, and assimilationist policies.
      1. Native American women's role and status in "women-centered" societies
      2. Loss of Native American women's political and social preeminence
      3. Election of Native American women to political offices; tribal political offices: return to traditional values
    2. Changes in Native American perspectives of sexual orientations
      1. "Third gender" roles in traditional Native American cultures
      2. Native American tribal societal changes due to assimilation of Western homophobic perspectives and practices
    3. Tribal economies and class structures
    4. Religious practices
    5. Tribal enrollment and disenrollment; issues of blood quantum
    6. Federal and state recognition
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