After crucial student-led advocacy for the establishment of a Native and Indigenous Studies program, WashU’s American Culture Studies (AMCS) department recently announced that it will offer a Native American Studies (NAS) focus area, operational immediately. This is incredible news and an important step towards establishing a permanent and robust program.

While a concentration is a good starting point, we urge College of Arts & Sciences administrators to make the establishment of an undergraduate Native American Studies minor a priority. Along with administrators and other University faculty, more students should express support for the department’s creation. It is not just the responsibility of Indigenous students to advocate for this program. The availability of courses in Native and Indigenous studies is important for all students, not just the ones planning to major or minor in the subject. 

Study in this field also isn’t limited to the humanities; courses focused on Native and Indigenous knowledge extend to fields like agriculture, medicine, and other STEM fields. A wider offering of courses in NAS would provide an opportunity for students outside of the department to learn about the indigenous frameworks of knowledge that exist in their own fields of study. 

It’s important to think critically about why and how we inhabit this land. The continual erasure of Indigenous people’s history and knowledge only reinforces the colonial violence that structures the way most of us live. Attending college in a place that was once referred to as “Mound City” before it was ever the “Arch City” should compel us to investigate the history of land ownership. We often take for granted the land we occupy without critically considering the formation and history of its use. A program in Native American Studies could initiate this way of thinking for students unfamiliar with it.

The existence and many accomplishments of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies provide precedent for Native American Studies at WashU and should continue to be consulted for the creation of an undergraduate program. Just a handful of strong voices coming from mostly Indigenous students have been advocating for a program to be established, and it’s going to take a lot more for the administration to seriously consider investing enough resources to make a robust program feasible. We acknowledge there may be financial constraints to the process, but only one full-time faculty member is required to begin establishing a minor.

In an interview with Student Life, interim AMCS director Elaine Peña said that the sustainability of the program depends on whether the department can hire enough faculty to teach courses, garner sustained student interest, and secure funding for programming. She emphasized the importance of continual student advocacy, especially by expressing interest in the program to the dean’s office.

The editorial board of Student Life urges non-Indigenous students, in particular, to become curious about how they can express interest and apply the pressure needed for the administration to create a Native American Studies department. We also call upon the administration to be receptive to student advocacy and to do whatever is possible to allocate the appropriate financial resources to the creation of this program.

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