American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Beginning in the spring of 1976, the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA began exploring the possibility of developing an interdisciplinary Master of Arts program in American Indian Studies. Given the large number of courses about American Indians already being offered at UCLA (22 undergraduate, 13 graduate) the first attempts were really to identify the mechanics of putting together such a program of study. The American Indian Studies Center also needed a curriculum coordinator to oversee the planning of the M.A. During the summer of 1976, Dr. David Draper joined the faculty and assumed this role.

The appearance of Native American or American Indian Studies programs in colleges and universities is a relatively recent phenomenon. The rapid rise in the number of Native American college students since 1968 has been accompanied by a proliferation of special programs, ranging from one or two course offerings to full-fledged academic departments aimed at teaching about Native American history, culture, and current affairs. In 1968, statistics compiled by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, showed a total of 14,361 students enrolled in institutions of higher education who identified themselves as American Indians. By 1974 this number had risen to 32,757. During the same period, the total number of scholarship recipients through the Bureau of Indian Affairs had increased from 2,660 (FY 1968) to 13,895 (FY 1974). The statistics from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare must be viewed with some caution since they depend upon self-identification rather than objectively defined criteria. The increase between 1968 and 1974, however, is remarkable, even on the basis of self-identification.

It was several hundred years ago that the system of higher education in the United States commenced with the founding of Harvard, William and Mary, Dartmouth, and other institutions to educate Indian and non-Indian youth of this land. During ensuing centuries, these colleges and the over two thousand that came later concentrated on the education of non-Indians. The education of Indians occurred in missions schools, in schools Indian peoples themselves established, and in government and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, but seldom in these colleges and universities. In the last decade, however, the national system of higher education sought to return partially to its original mandate to enfranchise American Indians within its realm by recruiting and admitting increased numbers of Indian students. Concomitant with this renewed mandate was a realization that it is both legitimate and desirable to include the endogenous consideration of American Indian societies and concerns as an important and pervasive activity within academia. As a method of accomplishing this, a myriad of Indian studies programs were created in colleges and universities. The creation of these programs is in contrast to the history of most existing disciplines. The typical historical pattern is that first came the discipline as an intellectual entity, that is, as a distinct body of knowledge and interests; then came its development as a structural entity, that is, as facuIties, courses, programs of study, degrees, and departments. The structural entity of American Indian studies came several years ago. Its intellectual entity at that time was not distinct, but merely a loose composite of existing academic disciplines (most notably anthropology, law, and history of Indian cultures, especially their language, art, and music) and of contemporary issues and problems of Indian peoples. Today, American Indian studies is only slightly beyond this initial point. to It has not yet embraced fully the higher order scholarly and academic functions of the contemporary university system. The development of American Indian studies has been characterized by a concentration on teaching and service activities, not on scholarly ones characteristic of other disciplines. Consequently, American Indian studies is only really a quasi -discipline and its existence as a separate area within academia therefore problematic. This paper addresses the disciplinary nature and possibilities of American Indian studies, issues which seemingly are important to its existence as a distinct entity within the academic system. The discussion is accomplished through the format of examining American Indian studies in light of some disciplinary criticisms leveled against it and suggesting some possible directions it might follow.

One of the most pressing problems encountered in the Indian community, the severe lack of American Indian professionals, calls for an organized effort in encouraging Native Americans to pursue postgraduate education. This lack of professionals is proportionately greater than in any other ethnic minority. The graduate program in American Indian studies is viewed as a necessary step in alleviating this problem. For example, there are now over forty Indian community colleges that require staffing by qualified Native American teaching specialists.

Given the program goal of educating students who would have a positive impact on Indian communities, our planning for the Master's program in American Indian Studies initially included an applied program component. This component was viewed as a terminal M.A., to include a one-year internship with a community organization in lieu of the Master's thesis. As the planning for the applied program progressed, it appeared to become a contrived notion, external to our planning goals of providing a curriculum largely focused upon the acquisition of research skills.

C. Heth: The reason for this conference is to discuss a plan to develop an M.A. Program in American Indian Studies that is interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary. We thought that people of your expertise would have something to say about that. We wanted to have both negative and positive comments.