The espoused foundation of U.S. society, "E pluribus unum" (out of many, one), is based on the belief that this nation should simultaneously support pluralism and promote unity. The road to making this ideal a reality, however, has not always been smooth. The ever-widening achievement gap highlights how this discordance plays out in our…

In this paper, the author talks about some of the issues of the beginnings of Native and Indigenous studies and suggests that one looks more precisely at what people mean when they talk about those beginnings. The author is not a big fan of Native people emerging vaguely from the mists of time, but he is always tracing a history of Native studies…

In this article we introduce a "head and heart" approach to community-engaged scholarship. Through the literatures of Aboriginal scholarship and engaged scholarship we reflect on a community-university research and program development project undertaken in response to health and education concerns of Aboriginal people in Canada. We…

The establishment of an American Indian Studies program at Michigan State University was facilitated by the existence of a Native American Institute and its director's leadership, a strong American Indian faculty/staff association, and the support of other faculty and American Indian students. Notable program components are an interdisciplinary…

Factors contributing to the problems of the American Indian studies program (AINS) at the University of Arizona are examined, based on a 1991-92 program review. The relationship of the AINS program to the land grant university mission is highlighted. Observations and conclusions specific to this program are then generalized to ethnic studies and…

Northland College's strategy for redevelopment included substantial program expansion in environmental studies, building a Native American studies program, and aggressive student recruitment. (MSE)

The development of a new Indigenous Nations Studies program at the University of Kansas is described. Success depended on a critical mass of Indigenous and non-Indigenous faculty and students that had a sense of political and social justice and understood the need for institutional change. The biggest challenge was countering the entrenched…

Describes the process of building partnerships between Aboriginal communities and the University of Northern British Columbia at the levels of both institutions and persons, focusing on collaborative development of a First Nations Studies curriculum. Argues that overtly participatory methodologies have enhanced the collaborations' success,…