Native American Studies is a new course offered this semester covering Indigenous communities as they have existed in the past and continue to resist in the present. History teacher Dr. Sushmita Hodges designed the class during her sabbatical last year.
As a new course, the class’s final project was a surprise. Currently, students are paired up and completing an oral history component and digital archive for a chosen topic of focus.

“We are researching different aspects of Indigenous sovereignty and Native American culture and movements … picking a specific movement and organization to focus on [looking at] their involvement in the world,” senior Cassandra Overholt said.
Groups are covering a wide range of topics. For example, Overholt is researching Indigenous language revitalization, and senior Ava Schluender is investigating Indigenous women’s health and safety with a specific focus on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. Additionally, senior Ethan Peltier is looking into the Land Back Movement.
“We chose [the Land Back Movement] because we found it to be most interesting and still super relevant with the government starting to give land back,” Peltier said.
So far, students have enjoyed learning more about their focus areas, primarily through first-hand accounts. The class welcomed three speakers to share their personal experiences, including Serene Lawrence (‘07), a member of the NDN Collective, Lonna Stevens-Hunter, Director of Native American Affairs for U.S. Senator Tina Smith, and J. White, an Indigenous artist.
“[The most interesting part of research] is just talking with people … we just got to learn all about [their] life,” Schluender said.
As for the two components of the project, the oral history aspect can be either a video, podcast, or presentation relating to the topic of study. Many students have used interviews with visiting speakers or outside sources to complete this requirement. The digital archive requires students to find historical information and artifacts relating to their topic and compile these items and resources in an organized chart.
“You find photographs, you find personal documents, publications and ephemera, and those are the four aspects of the digital archive,” Overholt said.
One thing some in the class wished was more apparent was clarifications on the guidelines for the project. As a course debuting this year, many students need clarification on the curriculum expectations.
“I still don’t really know what we’re doing … I think [our project] is going on a website, but I don’t know. I think it would be nice to have had more time to have this as the full focus of the class for the semester, so it could be more fleshed out,” Overholt said.
The official project start date was Sept. 27, The due date for the oral history was Nov. 18. The podcast or video was due Nov. 22.