American Cultural Studies - Contemp American Indian Issues

This class examines Indigenous traditions that have generated social movements (group organizing and protest activism) against settler colonial cultural, political, and economic oppressions. Since 2012 these decolonization struggles have been activated by place-based Indigenous knowledges and intellectualism. Beginning with an analysis of historical activism, such as the Occupation of Alcatraz, students will deepen their understanding of contemporary movements against extractive industries and tensions created through various laws designed to block Indigenous activist participation.