Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

Native American Cultures (Face-to-Face)

ANTH 3001-01

Course: ANTH 3001-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: History, Sociology & Anthro
CRN: 33306

Course Description

Over the course of the semester, we will compare and contrast different Native American cultures from North, Central, and South America in an attempt to identify, understand, and explain similarities and differences in these native cultures and societies over time and across space. In our exploration of these societies, we will give special attention to the following topics: pre-contact culture history, the experience of colonialism, indigenous sovereignty and political rights, tribal and ethnic identity, spirituality and religious traditions, the inter-relationship between ritual and daily life, and the symbolism and significance of the landscape.  

Required Texts

Required Readings:
All required course readings will be available as .pdf files on CANVAS.

Optional texts (highly recommended if you can find and afford to purchase them):
  • Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013.
  • Thomas, David Hurst. Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity. Basic Books, 2000. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course students should be able to:
  • discuss anthropological theories on the origins and histories of Native American cultures.
  • discuss Native American accounts of their own origins and histories.
  • describe the histories and contemporary lives of 3 to 6 indigenous groups from North, Central, and South America.  
  • critically analyze some of the major issues in Native American Studies today, including: the experiences and impacts of colonialism; struggles for indigenous sovereignty; racial, ethnic, and tribal identity; Native American religious traditions; indigenous relationships with the land; struggles to preserve indigenous languages; cultural revitalization.

Course Requirements

Your grade for the course will be determined on the basis of your performance on the following:
  1.  Reading Journal Entries x 4 (4 pts./entry) | 16 points
  2.  Homework Assignments x 4 (4 pts./assign.) | 16 points
  3.  Formal Class Discussions/Debates x 4 (2 pts./each) | 8 points
  4.  Class Fieldtrip to Pipe Spring Nat. Mon. | 5 points
  5.  Participation and Attendance  | 5 points
  6.  In person Midterm Exam | 25 points
  7.  In person Final Exam | 25 points
  8.  Total |   | 100 points
I determine your final grade by calculating the percentage of the possible 100 points you have earned by the end of the semester.  My grading scale is as follows:
93 + % = A                  73-76   = C
90-92    = A-                 70-72   = C-
87-89    = B+                67-69   = D+
83-88    = B                  63-66   = D
80-82    = B-                 60-62   = D-
77-78    = C+                  0-59   = F

  1. Reading Journal:  For each week's readings, I expect you to hand-write a minimum of one page of your notes, thoughts, reflections, criticisms and questions about that week's readings. You can either address each week's readings individually or explore shared themes in the readings and discuss them as a whole. I will collect and scan your journals 4 times during the term. You will be graded on effort and thoughtfulness, not on mechanics, organization and style. These journals are intended to keep you up to date in your readings and to assist you with studying for the midterm and writing your research paper. 
  2. Short Assignments:  There will be four short assignments throughout the term. Each assignment will be approximately 1-2 double spaced pages long and is designed to help you synthesize and apply concepts learned in the course.  
  3. Formal Class Discussions/Debates:  Four times during the semester you will be asked to participate in formal class discussions /debates on themes of current interest with your fellow classmates.
  4. Fieldtrip to Pipe Spring National Monument (or similar):  If I secure funding, I’d like to take the class to Pipe Spring National Monument, located on the homeland of the Kaibab Paiute. The interpretive center at Pipe Spring does an excellent job of exploring the impact of colonialism on the Paiute and their complex interactions with European American settlers. For students unable to make the Saturday fieldtrip, there will be an alternative assignment.
  5. Participation & Attendance:  Since this class hinges on active student participation and discussion, you will lose points if you consistently miss classes without providing me with a  DRC accommodation or a valid excuse (i.e., illness, family emergency, official university activity).
  6. Midterm Exam:  The Midterm Exam will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions and will be administered in class on the date listed in the syllabus. 
  7. Final Exam:  The Final will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions and will also be administered in class on our SUU scheduled Final Exam day.

Course Outline

NOTE: Dates and Readings subject to change (I will, of course, inform you if this happens).
 
| WEEK/ DATES | THEMES & TOPICS | READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS
| Week 1   |  ·       Introduction to course topics and mechanics; HW #1 Passed out  |  ·       Review Syllabus; take Commenced Attendance quiz
 | Week 2   |  The Myth of Pristine Wilderness and a “New World” Discuss “Native Lands Assignment;” Land Acknowledgement statements |  ·       Charles Mann: “1491”   ·       Land Acknowledgement Readings; HW #1 due
| Week 3   |  Discussion of the history of the Noble/Brutal Savage stereotypes No class meeting today; Watch Unspoken: the   |  ·       David Hurst Thomas: Pt. 1   ·       David Hurst Thomas: Pt. 2; Kroeber: “Ishi in Two Worlds,” prologue and ch. 5
 | Week 4  |  ·       Ishi and Kroeber; Formal Class Discussion    Native American Studies and Anthropology; Film: Ishi, the Last Yahi |  ·       Kroeber: “Ishi in Two Worlds” chs. 6 & 8; Rockafaller & Starn: “Ishi’s Brain;” DISC. #1: Ishi & Kroeber  ·        David Hurst Thomas: Pt. 3; RJ #1 due  (up through Hurst Thomas pt. 3 reading)
| Week 5   |  ·       Introduction to Native Peoples of the Great Basin; Film: We Shall Remain: the Paiute; HW #2 Passed out  ·       The Paiute    |  ·       Sutton: “Native Peoples of the Great Basin”    ·       Sara Winnemucca Hopkins: “Life Among the Piutes:” Intro., Preface, and Ch. 1
| Week 6   |  ·       Introduction to Native Peoples of the Southwest; Midterm review sheet passed out  ·       Film: Native America Episode 1: From Caves to Cosmos |  ·       HW 2 due; Ch. 2 Sutton: “Native Peoples of the Southwest”   ·       Laluk and Aguilar: “Archaeological Tropes that Perpetuate Colonialism”
 | Week 7  |  Discussion of Tewa and Navajo creation stories & the reading from last Thurs. on “archaeological tropes that perpetuate colonialism” Midterm Exam (in class) |  ·       Excerpts from Ortiz: “The Tewa World” and Diné Bahane “The Navajo Creation Story”   ·       
 | Week 8   |  Fall Break – no class Zuni Gender Roles; Film: Two Spirit People |  Relax and catch up on readings Roscoe: “Zuni Man Woman”
| Week 9    |  ·       The Western Apache; Cultural Senses of Place; in class exercise on place; HW #3 Passed out  ·       Guest Lecturer    Class Fieldtrip to Pipe Spring NM  |  ·       Basso: “Wisdom Sits in Places;”    Darren Parry excerpts; RJ #2 due (up through Parry readings) Fieldtrip to Pipe Spring NM
| Week 10 |  Sovereignty Issues among the Navajo    Tribal membership in the U.S. and the Cherokee Nation; Class Discussion on determining tribal membership & identity |  ·       Wilkins: “Governance within the Navajo Nation” OR Hale: “Sovereignty: A Navajo Perspective;” HW# 3 due  ·       Sturm: “Blood Politics;” DISC #2: Tribal Identity  
 | Week 11   |  Film: Thunderbird Woman Native Americans and Traditional Ecological Knowledge |  ·       LaDuke: “Honor the Earth” & “Traditional Ecological Knowledge”  ·       Kimmerer: excerpt from Braiding Sweet Grass; Fieldtrip write up due
| Week 12    |  A quick look at the prehistory of Mesoamerica; HW #4 Passed Out Contemporary Maya People; Film: When the Mountains Tremble |  ·       Michael Coe: “The Maya”   ·       Menchu, pt. 1 & 2; RJ #3 due (up through Menchu)
| Week 13       |  A quick look at the prehistory of South America; the Quechua of highland Peru Urban Andean Indians; Class Discussion on Native American perspectives on Thanksgiving |  ·       Allen: “Coca and Cultural Identity;” HW #4 due    ·       Condori, et al.: “Andean Lives;” DISC #3: Native American perspectives on “Thanksgiving”
 |   | THANKSGIVING BREAK   | ·       Catch up on sleep (and readings)
| Week 14   |  ·       Shamanism in the Amazon; Class discussion on Neo-shamanism/cultural appropriation  Environmental Degradation in the Amazon and Native American responses |  ·       Brown: “Tsewa’s Gift” OR Plotkin: “Shaman’s Apprentice;” DISC #4: Neo-shamanism  ·       Turner: “The Kayapo Resistance” OR Gerlach: “Indians, Oil, and Politics;” RJ #4 due (up through Turner/Gerlach readings)
| Week 15 12/17     |  ·       Final Exam (held in class on 12/17, Thurs., 9-10:50 am) |  ·       FINAL EXAM! 

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late Work
While I do accept late work, I deduct 1 point per day late and don't accept any work after the last day of classes.
Make-up Exams
Unless you have a verifiable and compelling excuse, there will be no make-up exams available.
Course Etiquette
  • Please refrain from using your cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronic/digital media in class unless you demonstrably need said device for learning purposes (i.e. taking notes, sharing an oral presentation for the class with classmates). They are a distraction for me, for your classmates, and for yourselves. I have found a remarkable correlation over the years: those students with headphones on and those students who text (and those who do both simultaneously) tend to perform more poorly than those that do not.
  • When emailing me (deane@suu.edu) please indicate which class you are in and what your name is (i.e. ANTH 3200, Jane Smith). 
  • Please feel free to ask questions and to express your opinions and thoughts in class, but please do so in a respectful and polite manner.
  • If you need to arrive late or leave early for some reason, please let me know beforehand if possible and try not to disrupt your fellow students when exiting or entering the room.
Course Policy on Acceptable and Unacceptable Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Dall-e, etc.) is permitted in this course for the following activities:
  • Finding information on topics (but it is your responsibility to cross check and verify that information!).
  • Checking grammar and style.
The use of generative AI tools is NOT permitted in this course for the following activities:
  • Impersonating you in classroom contexts.
  • Completing individual or group work.
  • Composing a draft of a writing assignment.
  • Writing entire sentences, paragraphs, or papers to complete class assignments.
You are responsible for the information you submit based on an AI query (for instance, that it does not violate intellectual property laws, or contain misinformation or unethical content). If using AI tools, it must be properly documented and cited to stay within university policies on academic honesty. Any assignment that is found to have used generative AI tools in unauthorized ways will receive a zero in the assignment. If you are in doubt about permitted usage, please ask for clarification.

Attendance Policy

I do keep track of student attendance. If you know in advance that you will be unable to attend on a certain day, please notify me as soon as possible. You will be allowed 2 ‘free’ absences without penalizing your attendance grade.

Course Website, Special Events, and Field Trip

Finally, you are urged to make use of the course Canvas site to review lecture outlines (which I will post to the website after they have been delivered in class), to obtain the most recent and up-to-date list of readings, and to check for announcements of special events. At various points throughout the semester, I will inform you of cultural events and exhibits of potential interest. Depending upon funds there may be an class field trip.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.