Indigenous Studies Minor Concentration (B.A.) (18 credits)
Offered by: Institute for Study of Canada (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 18
Program Description
The Minor Concentration in Indigenous Studies provides students with a broad, interdisciplinary view of key issues in the historical, social and cultural dimensions of Indigenous life in Canada. Core courses offered within the program will provide interdisciplinary treatments of Indigenous life. The Program will focus on the history of indigenous populations in Canada, Aboriginal art and culture, the experience of indigeneity and gender, and legacies of Indigenous resistance to the Canadian state.
Offered by: Institute for Study of Canada (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 18
Program Description
The Minor Concentration in Indigenous Studies provides students with a broad, interdisciplinary view of key issues in the historical, social and cultural dimensions of Indigenous life in Canada. Core courses offered within the program will provide interdisciplinary treatments of Indigenous life. The Program will focus on the history of indigenous populations in Canada, Aboriginal art and culture, the experience of indigeneity and gender, and legacies of Indigenous resistance to the Canadian state.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (6 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| INDG 200 | Introduction to Indigenous Studies. | 3 |
Introduction to Indigenous Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The focus is on Indigenous experience in Canada, but encourages comparative approaches. Introduction to the social, political, economic and cultural dimensions of Indigenous life in Canada. | ||
| INDG 401 | Interdisciplinary Seminar in Indigenous Studies. | 3 |
Interdisciplinary Seminar in Indigenous Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The focus is on Indigenous experience in Canada, but encourages comparative approaches.Capstone seminar course offering an in-depth focus on one or more issues in Indigenous Studies. | ||
Complementary Courses (12 credits)
A maximum of 3 complementary course credits at the 200-level. A maximum of 6 credits from any given discipline with the exception of Indigenous Studies (INDG) courses.
Anthropology
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 338 | Indigenous Studies of Anthropology. | 3 |
Indigenous Studies of Anthropology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to Native American and Indigenous studies (NAIS) as a means of critically engaging with the discipline of anthropology. | ||
| ANTH 436 | North American Native Peoples. | 3 |
North American Native Peoples. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A detailed examination of selected contemporary problems. | ||
Canadian Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CANS 306 | Topics in Indigenous Public Affairs . | 3 |
Topics in Indigenous Public Affairs . Terms offered: Summer 2025 Past and present achievements and concerns within Indigenous societies across Canada. | ||
| CANS 315 | Indigenous Art and Culture. | 3 |
Indigenous Art and Culture. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the work of selected First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists in Canada. | ||
English
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 297 | Special Topics of Literary Study. | 3 |
Special Topics of Literary Study. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics of literary study. Topic varies by year. | ||
| ENGL 440 | First Nations and Inuit Literature and Media. | 3 |
First Nations and Inuit Literature and Media. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to Inuit and First Nations literature and media in Canada, including oral literature and the development of aboriginal television and film. | ||
Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GSFS 307 | Indigenous Feminisms. | 3 |
Indigenous Feminisms. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores Indigenous feminisms in historical and contemporary contexts, with a critical focus on the tensions between feminist and Indigenous epistemologies. The relationships between feminisms, settler-colonialism, nation-building, and Indigenous social justice struggles will be emphasized. | ||
Geography
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 301 | Geography of Nunavut. | 3 |
Geography of Nunavut. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to the physical and cultural geography of Canada's newest territory. The course will emphasize the bio-physical heterogeneity of the natural environment and the cultural and political ecology of the human population. | ||
History
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HIST 202 | Survey: Canada to 1867. | 3 |
Survey: Canada to 1867. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of early Canada, from periods known mainly through archaeological records to the Confederation era. Social, cultural, economic and political themes will be examined. | ||
| HIST 223 | Indigenous Peoples and Empires. | 3 |
Indigenous Peoples and Empires. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. History of Indigenous Peoples of North and South America and their early experiences of European conquest and colonization, c. 1400 - 1800. | ||
| HIST 303 | History of Quebec. | 3 |
History of Quebec. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Covering Quebec history from New France to contemporary times, this course will include themes like ethnic relations, citizenship, gender and material culture. It is of particular interest to students in Education who foresee teaching about Quebec. | ||
| HIST 309 | 3 | |
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
| HIST 333 | Indigenous Peoples and French. | 3 |
Indigenous Peoples and French. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Encounters between Indigenous Peoples and French newcomers in Canada and other parts of North America, 16th - 18th century. Through an examination of exploration, Catholic missions, trade, military alliances and colonization, the course focuses on the motives, outlooks and actions of both Indigenous Peoples and Europeans. | ||
| HIST 361 | Topics in Canadian Regional History. | 3 |
Topics in Canadian Regional History. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics in Canadian regional history. Topics will vary by year. | ||
| HIST 363 | Canada 1870-1914. | 3 |
Canada 1870-1914. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will examine social, economic, political and cultural aspects of Canadian society between 1870 and 1914. Topics covered will include aboriginal peoples, European settlement of the West, provincial rights, the national policy, social reform movements, industrialization, immigration and the rise of cities. | ||
| HIST 408 | Selected Topics in Indigenous History . | 3 |
Selected Topics in Indigenous History . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in Indigenous history. | ||
Indigenous Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| INDG 202 | Topics in Indigenous Studies 1. | 3 |
Topics in Indigenous Studies 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Drawing upon and introducing the burgeoning field of Indigenous Studies, this course is designed to be an introduction to selected themes and topics in Indigenous Studies. Possible examples: Indigenous health, Haudenosaunne culture etc. Topics vary from year to year. | ||
| INDG 300 | Topics in Indigenous Studies 2. | 3 |
Topics in Indigenous Studies 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course is designed to examine specific themes and topics in Indigenous Studies. Possible examples: Haudenosaunee governance etc. Topics vary from year to year. | ||
| INDG 301 | Indigenous Contemporary Resistance. | 3 |
Indigenous Contemporary Resistance. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. In-depth and experiential examination of contemporary Indigenous resistance movements based on Indigenous worldviews and land-based knowledge. | ||
| INDG 302 | Introduction to Kanien’kéha 1 | 3 |
Introduction to Kanien’kéha 1 Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Foundations of the Kanien'kéha language and Haudenosaunee worldviews, including reading and speaking basic Kanien'kéha, using key words and phrases to communicate basic needs, and the verb-based morphology and grammatical structure of the language. | ||
| INDG 400 | Seminar: Indigenous Studies. | 3 |
Seminar: Indigenous Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This advanced course is designed to examine specific topics and themes in Indigenous Studies. Possible examples: Indigenous research methodologies. Topics vary from year to year. | ||
| INDG 420 | Indigenous Food Sovereignty. | 3 |
Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of food sovereignty as it relates to First Nation, Inuit, and Métis and their connection to the land as sustenance. The focus is on natural food sources and practices. | ||
| INDG 450 | Rotinonhsón:ni Land-Based Pedagogy. | 3 |
Rotinonhsón:ni Land-Based Pedagogy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The teachings of land, Ohen:ton Karihwátehkwen (Words before all Else) as well as stories that engage in the multiple tenets of Indigenous land-based education. Land-based practices and Indigenous literature. Participation is based on the values of Skén’nen (peace), Kahsatsténhsera (united strength), Ka'nikonhrí:io (good mind). | ||
Interdisciplinary Field Course
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| IDFC 500 | Indigenous Field Studies. | 3 |
Indigenous Field Studies. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Intensive field course that focuses on First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures and worldviews, with particular emphasis on linkages to practice areas and integration across disciplinary silos. Attention is given to the effects of Canadian legal, health and social welfare policies on contemporary First Nations, Métis and Inuit societies. | ||
Law
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CMPL 500 | Indigenous Peoples and the State. | 3 |
Indigenous Peoples and the State. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Current legal topics relating to Indigenous peoples, including the concept of Indigenous title, and constitutional aspects of contemporary land claims. Aspects of Canadian law relating to Indigenous peoples, their constitutional status, and hunting and fishing rights. | ||
| CMPL 500D1 | 1.5 | |
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
| CMPL 500D2 | 1.5 | |
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
Linguistics
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LING 211 | Introduction to Indigenous Languages. | 3 |
Introduction to Indigenous Languages. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores the Indigenous languages of North America, including their histories, linguistic properties, cultural settings, and key social issues facing them in the 21st century. Many different aspects of North American languages will be discussed including sound systems, grammatical classification, expression of time and space, and specialized linguistic phenomena like polysynthesis and reduplication. Social contexts of language will include performance, speech games, language change, language endangerment, and government policies. | ||
| LING 411 | Structure of an Indigenous Language. | 3 |
Structure of an Indigenous Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Investigates linguistic and grammatical properties in an Indigenous language or language family of North America. Topics covered include: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics; historical and comparative research; as well as topics at the intersection of language and culture. The course engages with primary literature on the language of study. | ||
Political Science
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| POLI 372 | Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian State. | 3 |
Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian State. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The relationship of Indigenous politics to larger debates and literatures within political science, such as citizenship theory, federalism, and collective action. Subjects covered include Canada's treaty history, constitutional changes, key policy frameworks, and Indigenous political development. | ||
| POLI 436 | Aboriginal Rights in the Canadian Constitution. | 3 |
Aboriginal Rights in the Canadian Constitution. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course explores the inclusion, impact, and interpretation of s.35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. In s.35, "the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed". What does it mean for Canada to recognize, affirm, define, justify, and implement such rights? The course sets out how one might think about the constitutional promise of s.35, and challenges us to address whether this promise has been realized. It sets out how s.35 has structured Indigenous-settler politics since 1982. | ||