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Two great Autumn 2015 classes in American Indian Studies dealing with environmental issues

Submitted by Mark P. Weitzenkamp on September 24, 2015 - 8:00am
 
Environmental Issues on Indigenous Homelands
AIS 275 B, SLN 23177
I&S, NW available for students who contact AIS adviser Elissa Washuta (elissaw@uw.edu)
5 credits
Tu/Th 3:30 - 5:20
Instructor: Clarita Lefthand-Begay
 
Take this class to learn about environmental issues faced by tribes in North America.
 
In this introductory class you will learn about environmental pollutants and challenges that impact tribes today. You will participate in class discussions, learn to analyze journal articles, read key literature, be informed by guest speakers who work to solve tribal environmental issues, and sharpen your writing skills by developing a short research paper about an environmental topic that most compels you.
 
The overarching goals in this course include developing your understanding about a broad range of tribal environmental issues, studying U.S. environmental policies relevant to protecting tribes from pollutants, and learning about the health implications of contaminated ecosystems. You will build critical awareness and thinking about environmental problems.
 
 
 
Bringing Back the Wealth: The Abundant Land of the Campus

AIS 275 E, SLN 23178

I&S, NW available for students who contact AIS adviser Elissa Washuta (elissaw@uw.edu)

5 credits

Tu/Th 3:30 - 5:20

Instructor: Cynthia Updegrave

If landscape is memory, and time is living, how might we think about the richness of the environs of the university campus? What can it teach us, and how might we begin to bring back the wealth of the abundant land

This course is welcoming to all disciplines and backgrounds, and created to engage multiple perspectives in dialogue. wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ [http://ow.ly/PLdYt], the Intellectual House, is more than a building on campus: it is the living breath of teachings situated within a rich complex of relationships to the land of the campus. The many types of cultural activities now taking place at wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ provide us with an opportunity to re-imagine the natural environment of the campus, and frame the restoration of cultural resources in terms of relationships.

 
Extended description:
Learn about the wealth of abundant life and complexity of the many ecosystems that have existed through time in proximity to the campus; the natural processes, people and cultural relationships that have created, contributed to, and maintained this abundance; as well as the profound impacts to the original people and lands of the campus associated with the settlement and engineering of the City of Seattle. Consider what it means to bring back this wealth while developing a richer understanding for the region through campus walking tours and local field trips. Learn from stories, elders, the Lushootseed language and an introduction to the museums, archives, plant and horticultural resources on campus. 
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