What career opportunities are available with an American Indian Studies degree?

Graduates can pursue careers in tribal, state, and federal government, education from elementary to tribal college level, cultural preservation, tourism, gaming, recreational management, natural resource management, agri-business, and diversity training for state, federal, and private entities.

What student organizations can American Indian Studies students join?

Students can join Lakota Omniciye ('a gathering, assembly') which organizes the annual powwow and American Indian Awareness Week, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES).

How many credit hours are required for the American Indian Studies major?

The American Indian Studies major requires 37 total credit hours to complete.

American Indian Studies

Contemplate the Indigenous Experience

The Center for American Indian Studies at Black Hills State University offers numerous courses across disciplines. These courses allow students to fully understand the experiences of American Indians throughout the Northern Plains and the United States. The Center for American Indian Studies is dedicated to promoting awareness of American Indian cultures, values, and social issues, while also helping facilitate the programs for the AIS major and minor.

Multidisciplinary Approach

Students can benefit from this approach by taking courses cross-listed between American Indian Studies and English, Sociology, History, Political Science, and more.

Home Away from Home

The center is a home away from home where students can study, participate in student organization meetings, relax with friends, and seek assistance from an advisor or tutor.

AIS Major

As a major, students will be prepared to examine the world around them from a comparative perspective–students will learn how American Indian voices rise to challenge the dominant society's viewpoints of indigenous cultures, histories and sovereignty.

Transcript

Urla Marcus Director for the Center for AIS: It's not only a spiritual place, but a, It's just a real comfort for our students to come and not only live and grow, but to learn in the Black Hills. And so a lot of people travel from across the world to come to the Black Hills. We're very unique that we are cross listed with every one of our classes in our discipline. So if students were in history they can take an AIS course, or if they're in English, or sociology, psychology. They can all have an opportunity to study American Indian Studies. What we want students to walk away from this degree is having, you know, that foundation with American Indian Studies, as in history, language, component. So that they can not only recognize some of the issues, but how can they move towards reconciliation and move towards understanding, so that more of our people can live together.

Rosie Sprague Assistant Director: It starts with American Indian Awareness Week. Those are Monday through Friday, there're speakers that are on campus. Usually between 10 and 15 speakers we have every year come in and talk about a specific focus. This year it's on family and home. Last year it was on the environment. And Lakota Omniciye, a student organization, they're the ones who--it's 100 percent run by the Lakota Omniciye. They do the fundraising, they do everything, so it's really student run. We just kind of back them up and you know, its a really really big event on campus. Probably the biggest.

Urla Marcus: We actually have quite a few non-natives who travel to Black Hills State to study American Indian Studies. We find that a lot of our native students who come to Black Hills State aren't specifically seeking the major, but once they take a class or two then they start taking more, and then pretty soon they have a minor and then a major. Some people come to play and some people come to pray, because the spirituality that these hills possess.

Rosie Sprague: This is our Mecca, you know. This is where we come, and so it's really powerful for our students to be able to be here on campus and Spearfish, right, you know, at the heart of the Black Hills.

2022 American Indian Studies Degree Graduate, Jacey Garcia with the Black Hills in the background.

"The American Indian Studies program has helped me learn more about the history of my heritage and who I am."

Jacey Garcia - Class of 2022