Native American Studies
Jump to: Events | Degree Requirements | Instructors | Courses
Faculty Director's Welcome
On behalf of the faculty and staff in Native American Studies (NAS) at Stanford, I would like to welcome you to our program.
Most students drawn to the NAS program view their university experience as an opportunity to improve the lives of their families, Native communities, and themselves. Since NAS became a full-fledged academic program in 1997, we have offered an array of courses such as Major Problems in Native American History, Native American Creative Writing, Psychology and American Indian/Alaska Native Mental Health, Indigenous Feminisms, Decolonizing Language in the Indigenous Classroom, Tribal Food Sovereignty, Muwekma Community Engaged Learning, Cultural Heritage and Native Field Plants Garden Project, and Indigenous Peacemaking. This year, we are offering a new course during the Winter Quarter, titled Community & Nation Building and Peacemaking in Native North America.
Overall, our program emphasizes scholarship and ethical engagement rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing. The NAS program thrives due to the contributions of many dedicated scholars, activists, and allies, enabling us to offer four to five NAS courses each quarter. We also invite scholars, tribal leaders, artists, and activists to campus for special convenings and learning labs. These academic experiences are often interdisciplinary and community-based. Additionally, we highly encourage students to take at least one Indigenous language course (i.e., Lakota, Diné, Hawaiian, Samoan, Haitian Creole, and Nahuatl, with past offerings including Cherokee, Inupiat, and Yup'ik) through the Stanford Special Languages Program. The Quechua language may be forthcoming.
Our students come from diverse backgrounds, and many have gone on to produce award-winning scholarship that centers Indigenous knowledge and advocates for Indigenous self-government. We hope you will join us in embracing tribal sovereignty, cultural sustainability, and social justice!
Director of Native American Studies
Professor, Developmental and Psychological Studies
Graduate School of Education
Upcoming Events
Spotlight
- Spotlight - Announcements
Degree Requirements
Major Requirements
Native American Studies provides an intensive approach to understanding the historical and contemporary experiences of Native American people. Attention is paid not only to the special relationship between sovereign nations and the federal government, but to issues across national boundaries, including tribal nations within Canada, and North, Central, and South America.
To receive a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Native American Studies, students must complete 60 units.
Required courses:
1 Introductory course
- CSRE100: Intro to Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity
1 Major Core Course
- NATIVEAM100: Decolonizing Methodologies: Introduction to Native American Studies
2 Comparative Core courses offering a foundation in race studies
- CSRE101A: Indigeneity and Colonialism
- CSRE101B: Institutions and Inequities
- CSRE101C: Resistance and Liberation
1 Methodology course in a discipline of your choosing
1 Community-Engaged Learning course or preapproved project
1 Capstone course
- CSRE 200X - CSRE Senior Seminar
- CSRE majors draw upon their interdisciplinary expertise and training in race studies to design and complete a public-facing research project or research paper.
- or CSRE 201X, 201Y & 201Z - CSRE Honors Seminar
- The Honors Thesis Seminar is a year-long research- and writing-intensive sequence designed to support students as they apply their skills, knowledge, and political commitments to the investigation of a focused research question.
Electives:
- At least 6 additional courses in Native American Studies (30 units minimum)
- Up to 5 units of a Native language course listed in Special Languages may be applied toward the Native American Studies degree.
To find a more detailed overview of this minor please visit our Bulletin Page.
If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare Page
Minor Requirements
To minor in Native American Studies, students are required to complete 30 units:
- CSRE100: Intro to Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity
- NATIVEAM100: Decolonizing Methodologies: Introduction to Native American Studies
- At least 4 additional Native American Studies courses (20 units minimum)
To find a more detailed overview of this minor please visit our Bulletin Page.
If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare Page
Affiliated Faculty
Current Courses
Autumn 2025
Autumn Courses
Dahal, Y. (TA)
Winter 2026
Winter Courses
Spring 2026
Spring Courses
Summer 2026
Summer Courses
No courses offered this quarter.