SES 5513: Native Nations and Contemporary Land Use

Professor Eric Henson

2024 Fall Term

Tuesdays, 12:00pm - 2:45pm

This community based project seminar focuses on some of the major issues Native Nations, American Indian tribes, and Indigenous communities face as they seek to assert rights of self-determination in the 21st Century.  With a focus on land use, landback initiatives, and economic development opportunities, it provides in-depth, hands-on exposure to important issues faced by Native people today.  Students will work in teams and will be immersed in questions relating to self-governance, Native sovereignty, economic development, leadership, health and social welfare, land and water rights, culture and language, religious freedom, finance, budgeting, and education. In particular, the course emphasizes problem definition, collaborative/fieldwork relationships, and designing and completing a real-life project for a Tribal "client." This course is devoted primarily to the preparation and presentation of a comprehensive research paper, memo, or report based on a semester-long investigation that will be undertaken in partnership with a Native community. Near the end of the semester, each team of students is required to make a video presentation of its near-final work, in addition to submitting a final written report, paper, or memo.