Skip to main content

Native American and Indigenous Studies

  • Native American Close up of colorful dressed native man.
    Close up of colorful dressed Native American male.  213300037

  • Study Indigenous experiences across time and place.

    Students explore Indigenous histories, futures, and lived experiences through a rich, cross-disciplinary lens, drawing from nine academic departments.

  • Native American pow wow drum circle
    Native American pow wow drum circle symbolize unity and harmony. In Native American cultures, drumming circles were seen as a connection to the spiritual world, with each beat representing the heartbeat of Mother Earth
  • Elder John Thomas sharing a presentation on Boarding School to Activist to Elder
    Elder John Thomas sharing his presentation”Boarding School to Activist to Elder” in Associate Professor of History Lori Daggar’s Native American Activism and Red Power class
  • Close up of men sitting at a table listening to a presentation.
    Lenape Symposium 2024, Welcome Home
  • Learning native history
    Learning native history

Discover Ursinus College’s new interdisciplinary Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) minor—a bold academic initiative rooted in community, culture, and collaboration. Born from the Welcome Home Project, a partnership with the Delaware Tribe of Indians and local school district, this minor blends classroom learning with hands-on experience.

Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) courses offer students the opportunity to study Indigenous histories alongside both the present and Indigenous futures, foregrounding questions of nationhood and sovereignty, personhood, creativity, materiality, and culture. 

Applied and experiential learning is a cornerstone of the minor

The Native American and Indigenous Studies curriculum emphasizes real-world engagement and requires students to participate in the Welcome Home Project or a personalized experiential project, ensuring students connect deeply with Indigenous communities and issues.

Ursinus is Committed to our Statement of Mutual Intentions 

The NAIS minor also reflects Ursinus’s ongoing commitment to its Statement of Mutual Intentions with the Delaware Tribe, making it more than just a program—it’s a pathway to learning, understanding, and meaningful action.

Native American and Indigenous Studies
All Majors and Minors
Opening of the 2026 Lenape Symposium at Ursinus College on April 17, 2026.

Lenape Symposium returns to Ursinus

The two-day symposium was a rare and significant opportunity for multiple sovereign nations to come together and present valuable information on responsible representation of the Lenape.