About
Bemidji State University’s Indigenous Studies program and all of its course offerings are open to all students. No matter what one’s background is, there is something for every academic interest. As an interdisciplinary program, linkages are made across many disciplines. At its heart, it embraces Indigenous knowledge, and using that as a lens, examines all facets of Indigenous Peoples worldviews, thoughts, and realities.
The Indigenous Studies major and minor is designed to provide students with critical thinking skills to better navigate the complex world around us. The foundations for the program can be found in Indigenous ways of knowing and thinking as a way of examining areas of study relating to culture, history, sovereignty, tribal government, education, philosophy and the environment to name but a few.
Being located in Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) lands and waters, the course of study is centered from an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) perspective, with ascending circles encompassing the Indian Nations of what is called the United States, the First Nations, Inuit and Metis of Canada, and Indigenous Peoples throughout Central and South America and the Pacific.
The Indigenous Studies program is housed in the American Indian Resource Center (AIRC). The AIRC provides many services to American Indian students and all students taking Indigenous Studies courses, not to mention a number of community-based initiatives. Learn, explore from an Indigenous lens, and welcome to Indigenous Studies.
