History of Native America, 1800-present

4.0 credits

When visitors arrive on Alcatraz Island in the Bay Area today, they are greeted by the words, "You are on Indian land." Written by a participant in Native activists' occupation of the island in 1969, the statement is a reminder that there are Indigenous histories of the land that is currently the United States—and these histories are very much ongoing. This course is an introductory survey of the history of Native America, which consists of hundreds of distinct Indigenous nations. Among other topics, the course will explore how Native peoples navigated forced migrations and attempted genocide in the nineteenth century; the various ways they responded to efforts to Americanize them; Native activism and leadership on and off reservations across the twentieth century; and more recent developments from Standing Rock to Reservation Dogs.