Taught By:
Dr. Victoria Walsey
Faculty – Native Environmental Science & Vine Deloria Jr., Indigenous Studies Symposium Coordinator
Northwest Indian College
Native Environmental Science
Course Description:
The NESC 303 & 305: Native Environmental Studies seminar's particularly focused on students pursuing the interdisciplinary concentration option (ICO) within the Bachelor of Science in Native Environmental Science program. This course is designed to assist students in developing and writing an interdisciplinary self-designed concentration proposal, a requirement for all ICO students. Individualized Studies courses within this program concentrate on key areas of inquiry relevant to the student's concentration. These courses can encompass fieldwork, volunteer projects, service learning, and travel study projects, allowing students to actively engage in social and environmental action. A minimum of 10 Individualized Studies courses should be included in the ICO, with a maximum of 20 credits counting towards electives. Students have produced projects with social action elements present such as documenting traditional knowledge to add to tribal natural resources databases, producing informative educational content for their community based on their capstone research in both written and oral forms.
Student Campaigns:
This 300-level elective course is designed to empower students to engage in social action within the context of Native environmental issues. The course provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complex relationships between Indigenous communities and their environments, with a focus on advocacy, activism, and community-based solutions.
Students will explore key concepts in environmental justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and sustainable practices through a combination of lectures, discussions, case studies, and hands-on projects. Topics will include traditional ecological knowledge, land rights, climate change impacts on Native communities, and strategies for effective social and environmental advocacy.
The course will involve collaborative projects that require students to develop and implement action plans addressing specific environmental challenges faced by Native communities. These projects may include organizing community events, developing educational materials, participating in advocacy campaigns, or engaging in service learning opportunities.
By the end of the course, students will have gained practical skills in organizing and executing social action initiatives, an in-depth understanding of Native environmental issues, and the ability to critically analyze and address the social and environmental challenges facing Indigenous communities today