Anthropology

at Northern Kentucky University

Native American Studies Minor

These requirements apply to students declaring a minor in Native American Studies.

The minor in Native American Studies consists of 21 semester hours and requires the completion of the following:

  1. Four core courses (12 semester hours):
    ____ ANT 100 Cultural Anthropology
    ____ ANT 230 North American Indians
    ____ ANT 231 Modern American Indians
    ____ ANT 350 North American Archaeology
  1. Three of the following (9 semester hours):
    ____ ANT/SOC 301 World Patterns of Race and Ethnicity
    ____ ANT 318 Prehistoric Ecology
    ____ ANT 352 Archaeology of Mesoamerica
    ____ ANT 358 Art and Culture
    ____ ANT 360 Indians of Mexico and Guatemala
    ____ GEO 107 Diversity Mapped
    ____ HIS 416 Plains Indians
    ____ HIS 557 History of the Indians of the United States
    ____ ANT 307 Museum Methods (with permission, if Native American emphasis)
    ____ ANT 394 Topics in Anthropology (with permission, if Native American emphasis)
    ____ other appropriate courses (with permission, if Native American emphasis)

Note: Because of the overlap in courses, anthropology majors may minor in Native American Studies only if they have a second major or minor or an area of concentration outside the anthropology program. ANT 394/399 may be taken more than once if the topic is different each time.

NKU's Native American Studies program is the only such program in the state of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley region.

There are more than two dozen NKU faculty, staff, alumni, and friends who have specialized areas of expertise in Native American Studies and are willing to serve as resources. They can be reached at the following email addresses and welcome your questions:

  • Kristin Appleby, Part-time Anthropology Professor (email) North American archaeology, Ohio Valley prehistory
  • Eric Bates, Anthropology Alumnus (email) Contemporary Native Americans and Christianity
  • Prince Brown, Associate Professor Emeritus of Sociology brownp@nku.edu Native American-African American ethnic relations
  • Richard Coleman, Anthropology Alumnus rcoleman@trigon-epc.com Southwest Indian prehistory; contemporary Native Americans in the Southwest
  • Thomas C. Donnelly, Former Part-time Anthropology and Law Professor and Anthropology Alumnus donnelly@one.net American Indian law; American Indian religious freedoms
  • Donelle Dreese, Assistant Professor of English dressed1@nku.edu Contemporary American Indian literature
  • Thomas Foster, Lecturer in Anthropology (email) Muscogee Creek Indians; native ecology; North American archaeology
  • Nicole Grant, Lecturer in Sociology & Faculty Sponsor of First Nation Students Organization grantn@nku.edu Poverty, alcoholism, suicide, and other social problems on reservations; Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux
  • Gary W. Graff, Director of Institutional Research graff@nku.edu Hopi kachinas; Hispanization of Mesoamerican and South American Indians
  • Jonathan Holmes, Friend of NKU Anthropology okibjonathan@yahoo.com Native American ethnology and ethnohistory; historical and contemporary Plains, Prairie and Missouri River tribes; especially Oglala and Sicangu Lakota, Omaha/Ponca and Osage history and contemporary culture including, beadwork and cultural craftwork, pow-wows, warrior societies, religious spiritual practices
  • James F. Hopgood, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology (email) Mesoamerican Indian prehistory; Mesoamerican Indians; Indian religion; Indians and museums
  • MaryCarol Hopkins, Associate Professor of Anthropology (email) traditional Native American art
  • Britteny M. Howell, Part-time Anthropology Professor (email) Native South American prehistory
  • Rose Drees Kluth, Anthropology Alumna rosekluth@msn.com Archaeology of the Midwest
  • Jeannine Kreinbrink (email), Part-time Anthropology Professor and Anthropology Alumna Ohio Valley archaeology
  • Susan Meyn, Former Part-time Anthropology Professor mmeyn@fuse.net Indians and museums; Lakota Sioux
  • Don Miller, Anthropology Alumnus fortancientpoints@yahoo.com prehistoric, historic, and contemporary Indians of the Ohio Valley and Kentucky
  • Timothy D. Murphy, Lecturer in Anthropology (email) contemporary Aztec Indians; Mesoamerican Indian religion; Indians of Mesoamerica and South America
  • Neeake, Friend of NKU Anthropology fashaw@juno.com Shawnee; folklore; ethnohistory; American Indian religious issues
  • Sharlotte Neely, Professor of Anthropology & Native American Studies Director (email) Native American ethnology and ethnohistory; Cherokees; Lumbee; Shawnee; Navajo; tribal politics; gender roles
  • David S. Payne, Professor of History payned@nku.edu Native American history; Indians of the Plains
  • Danielle Roemer, Associate Professor of English roemer@nku.edu Native American folklore
  • Gregory Rust, Anthropology Alumnus RUST@xu.edu Lakota Sioux; American Indian Movement; ethnophotography
  • Michael J. Simonton, Lecturer in Anthropology (email) Plains tribes; Shawnee
  • Michael Striker, Part-time Anthropology Professor michael.striker@uky.edu Ohio Valley prehistory; North American Indians; Coeur d'Alene
  • Kenneth B. Tankersley, Former Lecturer in Anthropology CaveTank@aol.com North American Indian ethnology and ethnohistory; documentary film making; Paleo-Indians; Cherokees; Lakota Sioux; consultant and writer for the BBC Natural History Unit and Discovery Channel International
  • Barbara J. Thiel, Associate Professor of Anthropology (email) North American Indian prehistory; Ohio Valley archaeology
  • David Thomson, Associate Professor of Communications thomsond@nku.edu Navajo; American Indian spirituality
  • Martha Viehmann, Lecturer in English viehmannm@nku.edu contemporary Native American writers; intersections between Native and Euro-American cultures; uses of images of Indians in mainstream US culture; impact of mainstream expectations on modern Indians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
  • Judy C. Voelker, Assistant Professor of Anthropology (email) Mesoamerican Indian prehistory
  • Robert K. Wallace, Regents Professor of English wallacer@nku.edu contemporary Native American literature of the northwest

Are you on the NKU faculty or staff? Do you have a Native American Studies specialty, or do you know of someone who does? Contact Douglas Hume.