Native American Studies

Overview

The Department of Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma  is one of the leading such programs in the nation and it attracts and serves students of diverse backgrounds and academic interests who are committed to using distinctly Native American perspectives to place the sovereignty of Native nations and the cultures of Native peoples at the center of academic study. 

Students work closely with faculty to combine areas of emphasis according to their own scholarly and professional goals.  The areas of emphasis include:

• Tribal Governance and Policy

• Indigenous Media and Arts

• Language, History, and Cultural Knowledge

Star Quilt as Symbol and Vision

Native American quilts are a powerful example of the ways that Native peoples have taken practices of cultural dispossession (quilting in Indian boarding schools) and turned them into practices of cultural sovereignty. The star quilt, historically associated with the Sioux, has become a Pan-Indian symbol.  It can be used as a gift of honor, an object of art and beauty, or a practical item of warmth and comfort.  Like the star quilt referenced here, Native American Studies at OU will be pieced together by many hands; will be used by many for many purposes; will be vibrant, diverse, and complex; and will be symbolic of cultural tradition, cultural change, and cultural sovereignty.

About the programme

In addition to core classes in Indigenous theory and research methods, the Native American Studies curriculum currently supports intensive study in three interrelated areas of emphasis that are synthetic and interdisciplinary in nature: Tribal Governance and Policy; Indigenous Media and Arts; and Language, History, and Cultural Knowledges. The curriculum is, at the same time, focused and flexible. Students are encouraged to combine areas of emphasis according to their own scholarly and professional goals.

In addition, to the MA degree, students may pursue a joint MA/JD in Native American Studies and Law as well as a graduate certificate in American Indian Social Work.