MSU News: Online Native studies courses open to registration


Walter Fleming, head of Department of Native American Studies at Montana State University. Photo from MSU

Montana State University is offering three online courses in Native American studies this fall. All are taught by Native professors:
“Montana Indian Culture, History and Current Issues” (NASX 232) offers three undergraduate credits and is taught by Department of Native American head Walter Fleming. The course covers the establishment of Montana's reservations; treaties and agreements with the federal government; contemporary tribal governments; and social structures including kinship, political affiliations, military, warrior societies and religion.

“Native America: Dispelling the Myths” (NASX 550) is a three-credit graduate course exploring the various “myths” commonly held by non-Indians and sometimes Indians alike. Students will wrestle with these preconceptions while learning the most basic elements of American Indian—which is to say American—history.

“Indigenous Nations of Montana” (NASX 552) is a three-credit graduate course offering an introduction to Montana’s contemporary indigenous nations, including exploration of the 11 tribes resident on Montana reservations, as well as the Little Shell, who are without a federally recognized homeland. With instructor Shane Doyle, students will start in the east with the Nakoda, or Assiniboine, and work their way through the state clockwise, finishing up with the A’aninin, or White Clay, in the north. The course examines the traditional culture and history of each tribe, with a strong focus on contemporary life and issues.

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MSU’s online Native American studies courses now open for fall registration (MSU News 7/23)

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