About

The Program in Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) at The University of Texas at Austin has a global, comparative focus with a particular strength in the Americas. As an intellectual, interdisciplinary field, NAIS fosters and supports teaching and research on the languages, cultures, knowledges, and histories of Native American and Indigenous tribes, peoples, societies, and communities. We are also committed to cultivating and developing good relations with all the American Indian and Indigenous tribes and communities in Texas and beyond. 

While NAIS is housed in the College of Liberal Arts, our faculty and course offerings span schools and colleges through the university, including Architecture, Education, Fine Arts, Law, and Natural Sciences, in addition to Liberal Arts. Our certificates, portfolios, and the major in Race, Indigeneity, and Migration allow students to develop a broad and in-depth understanding of Indigenous thought, history, and issues. We also provide a community for NAIS students through social events, seminars, workshops, and strong ties to student organizations. Our lounge and study space in WCP 4.110 provides a gathering space for both undergraduate and graduate students.

NAIS offers both an Undergraduate Certificate and a Graduate Portfolio program. We run an exciting speaker series that provides students, faculty, and community members the opportunity to learn from and connect with Indigenous intellectuals from around the world. We also provide summer research fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students. 

History

Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Texas at Austin was founded in the fall of 2006 by James H. Cox (English), Loriene Roy (School of Information), Pauline T. Strong (Anthropology), Shannon Speed (Anthropology), and Gerald Torres (School of Law).

The Founding Envisioning Committee wrote in our founding documents that the main goal of the program would be to encourage an active intellectual and community engagement with Indigenous people and cultures. In 2006, we had approximately forty professors working with Native American and Indigenous communities and teaching Native American and Indigenous studies classes in nine departments and two professional schools. In just the ten years prior to 2006, graduate students had completed approximately 15 theses and 80 dissertations in the field. These professors and their students worked primarily in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. We decided, therefore, that the hemispheric scope of faculty and student interest would define the program.

In an effort to build upon this active program of teaching and research, the Founding Envisioning Committee created a PhD and MA portfolio program that was approved by the administration in the fall of 2007. We established an undergraduate certificate program in 2009. The portfolio and certificate form the academic portion of the program, which is complemented by a speaker series, an annual spring celebration of our students, projects with student and community groups, and summer research fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students.