What is Native Studies

Native Studies is an exciting, emerging area of study that seeks to understand the experiences and lives of Indigenous people and communities, past, present, and into the future. It also studies how Indigenous communities and the countries in which they live influence and define each other.

• An emerging area of study that seeks to understand the experiences and the lives of Indigenous peoples and communities: past, present and future
• Researches how Indigenous communities and the countries in which they live influence and define each other
• Pursues ways of understanding Indigenous communities -- local, national and global
• Combines the insights of many traditional university disciplines, such as anthropology, history, law, science, and sociology, with the wisdom of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives; this approach challenges mainstream ideas about Indigenous people
• Suggests fundamentally new ways of understanding Indigenous people and their relations with non-Indigenous societies and governments
• Aims to build bridges that will help create a better Canada