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Academics at ESF: Undergraduate Minors
Native Peoples and the Environment Minor

Coordinator: Dr. Robin Kimmerer

The Native Peoples and the Environment minor is available to all ESF undergraduates. The interdisciplinary suite of courses provides students with a cohesive introduction to Indigenous cultures, worldviews and knowledge systems and their application to environmental thought. The minor creates a conceptual framework for integrating traditional ecological knowledge with western scientific approaches in service to the science of sustainability. Through the breadth of courses and experiences, students will gain an appreciation for both the global nature and the local context of indigenous issues and the environment. The minor includes a required team taught seminar which enhances opportunities for interdisciplinary and cross-cultural integration.

Fourteen credit hours (5 courses) taken in residence are required to complete the minor. Two courses are specified, with an additional two or three courses selected from the list below. An internship may be used to fulfill a course requirement, if focused on Native peoples and the environment

Admission to the minor requires sophomore status with a cumulative GPA of 2.70 or better. Fourteen credit hours of courses are required.

Two required courses: (6 credits)

  • EST140 Introduction to Native Peoples, Lands and Cultures (3)
  • EFB 305 Indigenous Issues and the Environment (3)

Two or three courses (8 credits) selected from the following list:

  • EFB 306 Plants and Culture
  • EFB 337 Field Ethnobotany
  • EST 390 Social Processes and the Environment
  • EST 497 Onondaga Land Rights and our Common Future
  • SOC 444 Contemporary Native American Movements
  • NAT 142 Native American Religion
  • NAT 400 Haudenosaunee/New York State Relations
  • EFB 420 Internship (on Indigenous Issues)
  • EFB 496 Ecosystem Restoration Design
  • EFB 496 Indigenous Stewardship Seminar
  • EFB 496 Indigenous Values and Environmental Decisions

Relevant 496 and 497 courses may be acceptable for inclusion in the minor, by petition to the minor coordinator.