Activities, operations and communications of the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies, will be presented through our four thematic goals and attendant objectives – Academics, Instructional related activities, Research, and Outreach.
Goal 1 – Academics
The Center will develop academic Programs that advance the teaching and learning of American Indians, Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples regionally and globally. Center Partnerships will be formed with this and other programmatic concerns with local, regional, national, and international groups and peoples, with particular focus on peoples living in southern California. An academic Clearing-house for American Indian Nations, and covering Indigenous Peoples, will be developed that comprehensively lists courses and activities associated with CSUSB, with a feasibility study written from the materials assembled with the possibility of credit-bearing programs in the future.
Goal 2 – Instructional Activities
The Center will have a fourfold approach toward developing and maintaining strong and appropriate instructional activities at CSUSB – focus on students, internships, programs, and the potential for Certificates and/or Minor. In accordance with CSU mission to serve primarily institutions that focus on quality instruction, CSUSB students will have full access to a variety of instructional resources. This includes special collections of CSUSB library holdings and the proposed in-house Center library, information center and service learning internships for experiential and academic coursework. Students will have many opportunities for activity and internships at local museums, archives, Native American cultural centers, and with relevant national institutions, including the Smithsonian and the National Archives. Furthermore, the Center envisions a potential for a certificates and/or minor in Indigenous Studies, with a feasibility study completed within 5 years.
Goal 3 – Research
The Center will support research endeavors with the same local-to-global focus that is described above, and as based on the considerable expertise of the involved faculty. Local, regional and global historical issues of indigenous peoples will be one primary focus, remembering that native societies were the first people here, and developed their own distinct cultures and early forms of civilization. The Center will actively support Indian gaming and economic development studies, especially as they pertain to regional socio-political processes. Finally, the Center intends to support research on sovereignty, political and cultural of Native Nations, and autonomy struggles with an international focus in countries such as Chile, Mexico and Australia.
Goal 4 – Community Outreach
The Center will maximize community outreach and relations with California Indians – within three areas of primary focus, and others yet to be determined. These include: educational programs, resource development, and the provision of technical services. Center-related faculty are involved with ongoing California teacher education programs, and there are clear possibilities for developing educational endeavors on the culture and civilization of southern California Indians, especially in the San Bernardino region. Other programs will be developed in close consultation with local California Indian Nations, including on-campus activities and field trips to area museums and California Indian Cultural Centers, which will be built with partnerships connected to goals 1 and 3 above. Finally, the Center will serve as a clearing house for California / American Indian and/or Indigenous Peoples generally, for academic courses, community activities and contracted studies conducted by Center faculty, in fields such as Indian Gaming, Indian Health, Indigenous social movements, Tribal Sovereignty and Indigenous Political Autonomy, and Cultural and Historical Representation in Museums and Exhibits, to name a few.
Activities and Functions
The Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies will be a primary site for a set of innovative and productive programs for the study of American Indians and partnerships with local, national and international Indigenous Peoples. These programs will involve significant participation of CSUSB faculty, students and administrators, as well as partnerships with Native Nations (Tribes) in the region and nationally, and strong interactive connections with Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas and the world, many whom are already in contact with proposed Center personnel and the university.
The Center will conduct research, facilitate curricular and instructional programs, coordinate academic activities and interact on at least four levels of indigenous peoples, contributing to the development of knowledge and advancement of social justice issues. CSUSB students, faculty and administrators will have enhanced opportunities to provide service, learn and become engaged in leadership roles in California and nationally.
The Center foci will operate on four levels of scholarly and programmatic activities – first will be the local and regional Native Nations; second will be National (U.S.) level, Native Nations; third will be the Native Nations in the Americas outside of the USA, Latin America including the Caribbean; and fourth will be diverse Indigenous Societies on a Global level, outside of the Americas. While the Center will maintain international focus, special attention will given to the local and regional Native Nations with the intent of forming partnerships between the Center and the local and regional Native Nations.
From these over-arching functions, the Center will undertake these specific Activities:
- Development of academic Programs that advance the teaching and learning of American Indians, Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples regionally and globally.
- Center partnerships formed with local, regional, national, and international indigenous groups and peoples, focus on California.
- Develop an academic clearing-house for American Indian nations, Indigenous peoples, comprehensively listing CSUSB courses and programs.
- Developing appropriate instructional activities at CSUSB – students, internships, programs, and credit-bearing opportunities.
- Develop working relationships with special collections of CSUSB library holdings.
- Create an in-house Center “library” and informational resource center.