American Indian and Indigenous Studies

The American Indian and Indigenous Studies Associate in Arts Degree is designed to provide students a holistic and transdisciplinary education with a focus on the historical and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples of North America. American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) is committed to critical theorizations of settler colonialism, indigeneity, gender, sexuality, and sovereignty and to the interrogation of interlocking systems of oppression in order to unsettle and disrupt them. AIIS cultivates activist-scholars by providing students opportunities to bridge academic study with community engagement. Graduates develop a decolonial and liberatory vision for social change, an understanding of Indigenous core values and leadership models, and acquire skills in media literacy, critical and creative thinking, and an ability to advance sovereignty for Indigenous peoples. The major prepares students for transfer and career pathways that serve Indigenous populations in areas/fields such as education and research, cultural and resource management, health and human services, marketing and communications, tribal law and policy, fine and performing arts, American Indian affairs, and more. This degree requires a total of 18 units.