North American Indians
Anthro 14

Brief Course Description
This is an introductory course that surveys the past, present, and possible future of the original inhabitants of North America. The class uses culture area and historical approaches to review the wide variety of cultures that comprise native populations. From small bands of hunters and gatherers to large state-level civilizations, the original people of North America are rich in history, in folklore, in tradition, and in intimate association with their various habitats.

Most anthropologists date the first entry into North America from about eleven to fifteen thousand years ago when big game hunters crossed a land bridge that once connected Russian Siberia and Alaska. From those early hunters to the present, the story of Native Americans is long and exciting.
Students who successfully complete the course will:

1. trace the prehistoric and historic traditions that help to define modern Indian populations;
2. identify and describe the various culture areas of aboriginal North America;
3. identify and discuss outstanding native men and women from the past and present;
4. understand and be capable of presenting the highlights of traditional native culture to
include technology, ecology, subsistence, spirituality, world view, kinship, political structures, arts and crafts, conflict and conflict resolution, intergroup trade networks, language, and various other aspects of native culture and society;
5. recount the fluctuating U.S. policies toward native people through time including the
consequences of various policies and procedures;
6. know and be able to summarize important contemporary native concerns, such as
gaming, native legislation, urban habitation, missionization and spiritual conversion,
reservation life, the encroachment of non-natives into native spiritual traditions, native
health issues, and other significant topics.