Native American and Indigenous Studies

Students in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Community

What is the Native American and Indigenous Studies Community?

This residential academic community is for students who are interested in learning about and developing an understanding of the issues and challenges facing today’s and tomorrow’s Indigenous communities, as well as exploring solutions to those challenges. Students will expand and develop their understanding of Native American, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, and global Indigenous peoples in an intellectually and culturally supportive space. Learn more about the NAIS community from our academic partners in Native American and Indigenous Studies.

Why should I choose to live in this community?

The ARC will provide a strong residential academic support system for students’ academic and social needs, as well as connections to community and cultural traditions. The academic curriculum in the ARC will serve as a springboard for those students interested in the interdisciplinary minor in Native Studies. Students will interact with faculty both within and outside of the classroom, as well as interact with upper division students who share their scholarly interests. The ARC offers core courses in Native Studies (one 4-credit course per term, plus a smaller 1-credit seminar), workshops, community service opportunities, mentoring, seminars and academic counseling. There will also be opportunities for collaborations with other ARCs and groups who share similar goals and connections, including the Native American Student Union, and cultural events in the Many Nations Longhouse. The combination of curricular and cocurricular programming is designed to encourage academic and social growth among students and scholars with shared vision with the goal of nurturing both individual and community empowerment. Students also receive term-by-term advising tailored to their academic, cultural, and social needs from our Native American advisor and retention specialist.

What are the community expectations?

  • Three seminars restricted to ARC residents (one each term, 4 credits total)
  • Three 4-credit cocurricular lecture classes in Native American and Indigenous studies (one each term)
  • 1 credit of service learning in support of the Native American Student Union’s Mother’s Day Powwow (spring term)

Upon successful completion of this coursework, students will have acquired more than half of the 28 credits required for the interdisciplinary minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies.

In both academic and cocurricular work, students will develop extensive grounding in Indigenous history and culture as well as nuanced understandings of tribal sovereignty, Indigenous nationhood, settler colonialism, and the diversity and beauty of contemporary Indigenous lives and experiences. 

In addition to active participation in lectures and seminars, NAIS ARC students are also required to meet regularly with NAIS faculty and advisers, and are encouraged to attend NAIS-related lectures, symposia, and programs; to participate in the Native American Student Union and the Many Nations Longhouse communities; to take advantage of academic and professional development workshops and seminars; to design and facilitate programming and community-building events of their own; and to get involved in other organizations and initiatives on campus.

Location

Residence Hall: Global Scholars Hall. Students living in this community will select roommates who are also in the community.

Please note that communities can be moved to different residence hall buildings if the size or need of the community changes.

Students in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Community

For more information, contact naisarc@uoregon.edu.

Who is eligible and how do I apply?

Though primarily formed to serve and support Indigenous students and their families and communities across their first year at the University of Oregon, the NAIS ARC welcomes all students, regardless of background, who are committed to learning about and serving Indigenous peoples of Oregon, the US, and the world.

  1. Register for University Housing and select the community you prefer in the "Community Preference" section.
  2. Answer the community questions on your housing registration.

Completed community applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until May 1. Wait lists for communities will close May 15.

Explore other Community Options