New minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) at UTEP
It was announced by Dr. Jeffery Shepherd, Professor and Department Chair at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) the development of a new minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) which was approved over the summer and now operational. This announcement was sent to the Indigenous Community Advisory Committee (Tribal Chairman Manny Sanchez is a member of).
https://www.utep.edu/liberalarts/native-american-and-indigenous-studies/index.html
The core faculty committee of Drs. Rebecca Reid, Denis O’Hearn, Yolanda Leyva, Robert Gunn, Howard Campbell, David Carmichael, and Eric Meringer, and Dr. Shepherd are very excited about this new chapter in the History of UTEP.
The minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) provides students with a unique opportunity to learn about the Indigenous nations, peoples, cultures, and communities of the U.S. – Mexico borderlands and beyond. Drawing upon Indigenous perspectives, courses from multiple disciplines focus on important issues such as cultural diversity, nation-building, resistance to settler colonialism, Indigenous activism, gender relations, literature, art, and popular culture. Students enrolled in the minor will take NAIS 2300 Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies, and NAIS 4301: Capstone in NAIS, in addition to a range of courses taught by dynamic faculty in the College. Students are encouraged to think about community engagement, the intersection of critical theory and real-world practice, as well as career opportunities with Native nations and organizations. The minor is open to all students, regardless of major, who want to learn about the rich and vibrant histories and contemporary challenges facing Indigenous peoples today.
The minor is housed under the College of Liberal Arts.
Dr. Shepherd greatly appreciates the Indigenous Community Advisory Committee’s (ICAC) assistance with the Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Statement. As noted in that Statement, UTEP aims for substantive changes that improve the educational opportunities for students at UTEP and that speak to the needs and perspectives of Indigenous communities, tribes, and nations. This is the beginning of a long road of rewarding work, so they hope to reinvigorate their relationship with the Indigenous Community Advisory Committee and will seek counsel on some next steps in expanding the minor and meeting the ICAC needs.
“The UTEP Land Acknowledgement Statement
As members of the University of Texas at El Paso community, we acknowledge that we are meeting on unceded Indigenous land. We would like to recognize and pay our respects to the Indigenous people with long ties to the immediate region: the Lipan, Mescalero, and Chiricahua Apache; Piro; Manso; Suma; Jumano; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo; Piro/Manso/Tiwa Indian Tribe of the Pueblo of San Juan de Guadalupe; and Tortugas Pueblo. We also acknowledge the nations whose territories include present day Texas: the Carrizo & Comecrudo, Miakan-Garza Band, Caddo, Tonkawa, Comanche, Alabama-Coushatta, Kickapoo, and the peoples of Chihuahua and northern Mexico from whom many of our students descend, such as the Rarámuri, Tepehuan, Wixarrika and Nahuatlaca peoples. Finally, we recognize all of the Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories here in the Paso del Norte region. The University of Texas at El Paso honors your history and cultures and we seek greater awareness of the many ways in which your legacy can guide us in fruitful partnerships and mutually fulfilling relationships.”
