History: North American Indian History

Surveys Native North American history across regions of the continent that became Canada and the United States from pre- contact to the present, with emphasis on Indian-European interaction.

Open to Degree and PACE students

From Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows of the 1880s, to Canadian James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster Avatar, North American Indians have occupied a central place in our historical mythology of nation building and the frontier. But only in the past generation has the study of Native Peoples emerged from simple stereotypes – stereotypes of savage warriors, or of mystical environmentalists living in harmony with Nature – to describe human beings of a stunning variety of ethnic and language groups, capable of doing both harm and good. In turn, Native history has emerged as among the most exciting and dynamic historical fields, and one that has much to teach us about North American society, about American Empire, and about ourselves. This course will draw on recent scholarship, as well as primary source documents, film, and fiction to survey Native North American history from pre-contact to the present, and across the varied regions of the continent that became Canada and the United States. Some background in U.S. and/or Canadian history is useful but not required. Concentration: The Americas (HI05)