Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New Mexico – Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache – since time immemorial, have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We gratefully recognize our history.

See the full UNM Land Acknowledgement Statement (.pdf)

Serving Indigenous Peoples, Tribal Entities, and Tribal-based Programs

Our mission in Native American Studies: to honor Indigenous experiences, strengthen Native Nations, and help build sustainable Indigenous communities through academic excellence.

Our undergraduate and graduate courses provide opportunities for students to fulfill our mission, make significant contributions to Indigenous communities, and build committed relations with those communities. 

Curriculum Philosophy

Native American Studies centralizes interdisciplinary approaches to construct an academic curriculum focusing on concepts of Leadership, Self-Determination, Indigenous Pedagogy, Sustainability, and Indigenous Community/Native Nation Building. Students have various opportunities to apply their knowledge through field trips, internships, individual studies with department faculty, service-learning, and community-based service projects. The skills learned through our department has application to multiple Indigenous community and professional settings.

Degree Skill Base

The Department of Native American Studies is designed to develop students’ research, ethics, communication, critical thinking, presentation, writing, and problem-solving skills. Student will learn about different forms of Indigenous leadership, thoughts, sustainable communities, Indigenous educational curriculum and pedagogy, and engage in different forms of community and Native Nation building. The baseline knowledge of Indigenous thoughts and issues will be valuable to Native American communities within New Mexico, the United States, and Internationally.

Postgraduate Professional Pursuits

Students have gone onto pursue higher education degrees in Native American/American Indian/Indigenous Studies, Public Administration, Public Policy, Community and Regional Planning, American Studies, Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies, Sociology, Community Health, Communication, Journalism, Museum Studies, Water Resources, Law, Counseling, History, and Educational Leadership. Our students continue to serve in various Native community-based non-profits and in different spheres of Indigenous education. They have also procured leadership opportunities at non-profits, Tribal, state, and federal agencies.


BA

MA

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Minor

BA Online

Scholarships

Upcoming Native American Studies Events

No upcoming events


SiCB Call for Papers

Dr. Lloyd Lee and Dr. Wendy Greyeyes, Series Editors

This new book series provides opportunities for scholars, authors, practitioners, and community members to publish works that capture how Native peoples are working to resolve challenges on the reservation and in urban enclaves.

Mission

Honoring Indigenous experiences, strengthening Native Nations, and helping build sustainable communities through academic excellence