Native American and Indigenous Studies
The Native American and Indigenous Studies Area is a vibrant hub for research, scholarship, and outreach among Indigenous scholars, students, and community members. Our mission is to become a center for renewed presence of Indigenous peoples in Connecticut, New England, and the entire Eastern region of the United States.
Our Academics
UConn NAIS faculty members have diverse interests and teach courses across the social sciences, humanities, and life sciences. This academic breadth allows us to explore topics that impact Native American and Indigenous communities from various perspectives and to establish unique collaborations between disciplines.
We offer a Minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies in partnership with the Department of Anthropology.
Outreach and Engagement
Our faculty and students are involved in several initiatives that aim to strengthen the Native American and Indigenous community at UConn and beyond our campuses.
UConn Partnerships
We work closely with UConn’s Native American Cultural Programs and the Native American and Indigenous Students Association to build student community at the Storrs and regional campuses.
We sponsor collaborative events where scholars and students can exchange ideas, such as IndigiPalooza, an annual series with panel discussions and external speakers.
Community Partnerships
Among our priorities is to build stronger relations between UConn and the five recognized Tribes in Connecticut.
Improving these relations will offer new insights into our region’s history and the continuing inequities faced by Indigenous peoples. They will also provide an inclusive structure from which to build restorative collaborations and community-driven programming and research.
Connecticut State Recognized Tribes
Current Initiatives
We oversee the Tribal Education Initiative, a living account of the historical and ongoing efforts by Native and Indigenous students, faculty, staff, and their critical allies to establish an institutional presence at the University of Connecticut.
We are a founding member of the Quinnehtukqut River Collective, which brings together scholars, students, and tribal community members from UConn and other academic institutions to build community in the region.
We are expanding the most recent work of Land Grab CT, a project produced in conjunction with other UConn partners to collect and map land data tied to land-grant Universities and the 1862 Morrill Act.
We are partnering with the Akomawt Educational Initiative to establish a summit with key stakeholders and community members. The goals of this summit include developing a strategic plan to reclaim UConn and the Northeast as a vibrant site of NAIS research and discussing the future of Indigenous education in the region.