Indigenous Studies programs encourage students to recognize and revisit societal assumptions; to analyze and critique current realities; to see where we have come from and where we find ourselves today; to where we would like to evolve and how to get there, with a good mind.
Indigenous Studies offers its own theoretical basis of development as well as distinct methodologies. Combining these with the study of a variety of clustered areas of study, the program provides Indigenous approaches to individual, community, national, international and global development.
Indigenous Knowledge, Culture & Languages
The focus on Aboriginal language has inevitably directed learners, including faculty members, to the Elders who retain not only an exquisite fluency in Aboriginal language but who also embody evolved, distinctive perspectives on life, the universe and everything.
Indigenous Lands, Politics & History
Study the historical and contemporary interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous societies, and the cultural foundations of Indigenous life in areas such as performance, literature, politics, ecology and governance.
Cultural Expressions & Performance
Learn how the Indigenous Performance Arts (dance, literature, media, music & theatre) contribute significantly to the understanding and communications between and with Indigenous Peoples, demonstrating the significance of oral histories and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge.
Theories, Methods & Practice
Examines theories of Indigenous Studies from interdisciplinary and experiential perspectives focusing on the nature of Indigenous thought as expressed through oral tradition, written texts and other sources.