Students will learn about the histories, cultures, and contemporary situation of Indigenous peoples in North America, with special attention to Indigenous peoples in Canada. They will explore pre-contact histories and cultures, and critically examine and challenge assumptions acquired from colonial culture. Students will develop informed views on Indigenous cultures and histories. Students will be exposed to elements of Indigenous teachings and traditional knowledge from various Indigenous perspectives, including those of Elders and local communities.

Level: UG

Attributes: ASTR, ARTS

Food systems and food sovereignty are deeply connected to Indigenous well-being and relationship to the land, both historically and in the present. Food systems and agriculture are also intertwined with the history of colonialism in Canada. At the same time, Indigenous knowledge and land stewardship practices have provided the foundation for many areas of sustainable agriculture including agroecology, organic agriculture, permaculture, and regenerative agriculture. This course will use a land-based learning approach to explore Indigenous food systems as an integral part of sustainable agriculture. Using examples from local First Nations as well as cases across Canada, students will learn about historic and contemporary factors that impact Indigenous food systems and food sovereignty and consider the significance of reconciliation in the context of food systems. This course is cross-listed with AGRI 1130. Students may earn credit for only one of these courses.

Level: UG

Cross-listing: AGRI 1130

Attribute: ARTS

This course provides an introduction to Indigenous ways of knowing in the biological sciences. It will focus on the longstanding intelligences that Indigenous people had with the land and how those ways have been disrupted by colonization and implementation of European Knowledge systems. Students will use a critical lens to reflect on why Indigenous ways of knowing are important in biology through an emphasis on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Lectures will also cover topics that include Indigenous plant knowledge as well as their medicinal and food uses, human health, land stewardship and scientific knowledge communication. This course is cross-listed with BIOL 1492. Students may earn credit for only one of these courses.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 12 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Cross-listing: BIOL 1492

Attributes: ASTR, ARTS

Students explore Indigenous societies’ pre-colonial relationships to sexuality and gender and draw upon the context of imperial construction of identity through the Indian Act, Residential Schools, and the Sixties Scoop. As such, students will begin to identify where many Indigenous communities still embrace and contend with the traditional knowledge systems which form understandings of identity within sexuality and gender. Students will be able to pinpoint where identity has been interrupted by imperialism. As a result of understanding identity interruption, students will be able to connect how Indigenous people continue to engage traditional sex and gender through reclamation and decolonization.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): INDG 1100

Attribute: ARTS

Students explore Indigenous Societies’ pre-colonial Family Structures and relationships to sexuality and draw upon the context of imperial destruction of the family unit through the Indian Act, Residential Schools, and the Sixties scoop. Moreover, students will observe the importance of childrearing in identity construction, community functions, harmony, and disharmony. Students will learn how the imperial systemic destruction targeted the family structure, and the ripples that we deal with now as a result in contemporary society. As such, students will begin to identify where many Indigenous communities still contend with imperialism and also have access to the traditional knowledge systems which form understandings of the family and childrearing.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): INDG 1100

Attribute: ARTS

Students will engage with content highlighting West Coast Indigenous communities, which encourages authentic place-based Indigenous pedagogy. By centering West Coast Indigenous peoples and practices, this course invites students to understand the complexities of governance of these societies and their relationships with one another. Through recognizing the duality of West Coast Indigenous and settler histories, students will be able to link food sovereignty with governance, society, and narratives in pre-colonial and contemporary realities.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 21 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher, including INDG 1100

Attribute: ARTS

Students will explore Indigenous perspectives on settler colonial societies and the consequences of ongoing colonial occupation for Indigenous nations. Students will draw upon critical Indigenous studies scholarship, Indigenous traditional knowledge, narrative accounts and oral histories. Students will explore the misattribution and denial of Indigenous contributions to human social development and analyze strategies for decolonization, Indigenization, and self-determination. Note: Students may earn credit for only one of SOCI 3155 and INDG 3155 as they are identical courses.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 30 credits at the 1100 level or higher including SOCI 1125 or INDG 1100

Cross-listing: SOCI 3155

Attribute: ARTS

Students will examine historical and contemporary Indigenous activism in the Americas. They will critically assess government and corporate intrusion on Indigenous rights and lands, and Indigenous people's collective resistance and attempts to protect inherent rights and lands. Students will study Indigenous mobilization, political organization, self-determination, resurgence, and regeneration of communities and cultures. They will examine collective strategies and tactics, specific examples of struggle, visions of social alternatives (anti-capitalist, anti-statist, anti-colonial, etc.), and community social relations. Note: Students may earn credit for only one of CRIM 4245 and INDG 4245 as they are identical courses.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 45 credits at the 1100 or higher, including 6 credits of ENGL at the 1100 level or higher

Cross-listing: CRIM 4245

Attribute: ARTS