Native American Studies

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The Department of Native American Studies was established to provide and advance quality education for and about American Indians of Montana, the region, and the nation. In fulfilling this mission, the Department is committed to meet the changing needs of Montana's Indian tribes and all Montana citizens through excellence in teaching, research, and service. In its academic program, the department provides concentrated study through an undergraduate minor, the first online graduate certificate in Native American Studies offered, and a Master of Arts degree in Native American Studies. Students in any major can also gain a multicultural perspective through NAS offerings in the University's core curriculum. The Department, through its research and other creative efforts, actively pursues interdisciplinary scholarship in the field of Native American Studies.

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1950 - 195912000 - 20132

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    Exploring effects of climate change on Northern Plains American Indian health
    (2013-06) Doyle, John T.; Redsteer, M. H.; Eggers, Margaret J.
    American Indians have unique vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change because of the links among ecosystems, cultural practices, and public health, but also as a result of limited resources available to address infrastructure needs. On the Crow Reservation in south-central Montana, a Northern Plains American Indian Reservation, there are community concerns about the consequences of climate change impacts for community health and local ecosystems. Observations made by Tribal Elders about decreasing annual snowfall and milder winter temperatures over the 20th century initiated an investigation of local climate and hydrologic data by the Tribal College. The resulting analysis of meteorological data confirmed the decline in annual snowfall and an increase in frost free days. In addition, the data show a shift in precipitation from winter to early spring. The number of days exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) has doubled in the past century. Streamflow data show a long-term trend of declining discharge. Elders noted that the changes are affecting fish distribution within local streams and plant species which provide subsistence foods. Concerns about warmer summer temperatures also include heat exposure during outdoor ceremonies that involve days of fasting without food or water. Additional community concerns about the effects of climate change include increasing flood frequency and fire severity, as well as declining water quality. The authors call for local research to understand and document current effects and project future impacts as a basis for planning adaptive strategies.
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    History of navigation on the Yellowstone river
    (Montana State College, 1950) MacDonald, John Gordon
    In the mass of literature connected with the fur trade and exploration and settlement of the region now comprising Montana, the Missouri River as a route and a means of travel has received ample recognition, but its great tributary, the Yellowstone, has fared less well. It is little realized that travel on the Yellowstone River, from the days of the fur-trader to the coming of the railroad, played a very significant part in the history of the region. The Yellowstone was important first in exploration, and then in the fur trade, and finally was the decisive factor in the ability of the United States Army to open up one of the last remaining areas in the Northwest for settlement and peaceful pursuits.
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    The Big Horn Medicine Wheel: Native Science Research in Astronomical Place-Based Pedagogies
    (2013-03) Merriot, Ivy; Mast, Sara
    The Big Horn Medicine Wheel, located a few miles south of the Montana border, is an American Sacred Site long honored by many diverse peoples. A deep time-cut travois trail leads up to nearly 10,000 ft in the Big Horn Mountains, providing many past generations of travelers with a route to the wheel and to the protection of its high altitude, white limestone “huts.” Here, a traveler could meld with the voice of the wind, wrap themselves in the resonance of sequined-studded stars, and prepare to request an audience with the universe. Researchers in astronomy and archaeology--using Western Science methods--have erected a few noteworthy conclusions concerning the Medicine Wheel, but remain at a loss to explain the wheel’s original purpose. Using methods of Native Science, an abundance of new data reveals the coalescent nature of the Wheel's multiple properties, conveying value to the integrated systems of the Wheel and its environment. Methods that combine the oral histories, the patient immersion in place-based cognition, and the willingness to learn from “inert” materials such as the wind, stars, and stones, uncover a rich pedagogy for learning sky-earth relational knowledge, accessible through the processes of perception, recognition, cognition, immersion, and assimilation.
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