Programs

Indigenous Studies Courses open to all students who wish to join.

Because Indigenous Studies is a multi-disciplinary program, students may enroll in several different introductory level courses which are listed below. 

Indigenous Studies offers undergraduate study options in Bachelor of Arts Program in Indigenous Studies with plans of study including:

• Indigenous Knowledges, Culture and Languages
• Lands, History and Politics
• Theories, Methods and Practices
• Cultural Expressions and Performance
• Bachelor of Arts or Science Program in Indigenous Environmental Science
• Diploma in Foundations of Indigenous Learning
• Specialization in Niigaaniiwin – The Art of Leading
• Option in Indigenous Reconciliation & Resurgence

We offer several different areas which we trust will be informative, interesting and will lead to a life long enjoyment of working with First Nations, Inuit or Metis peoples, businesses, organizations or government.  There is much to do and that work requires effort on each person's part - so take up the challenge and see where you find yourself... Learning... to work together...

The Department of Indigenous Studies at Trent University is the oldest program of its kind in North America. Trent offers a wide variety of disciplines in the setting of a small university which is located in Nishnaabe territory and which is surrounded by agricultural land, bush and features the Otonabee River, part of the traditional route from Sault Ste. Marie to Lake Ontario, which runs through the middle of the campus. 

Indigenous Studies is a multi-disciplinary program which include the many areas of study relevant to Indigenous issues, it assumes diversity. Students come from Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds. Indigenous Nations include Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee, Metis, Cree, Oji-Cree, Algonquin, Abenaki, Mi’kmaq, Inuit, Innu, Dakota, Blackfoot, Dene, and many other Indigenous Nations from across North America and around the world.

Students enrolled in our programs are from non-Indigenous heritage, of North and South American, European, African and Indonesian backgrounds. Students from the East and West come together at Indigenous Studies to investigate a variety of subject matters.

Indigenous Studies graduates are trained, in cross-cultural environments, to analyze their experiences in a critical manner and to apply their learning in an Indigenous context. Grads work in international or domestic settings with the ability to de-construct experiences and identify underlying assumptions which can lead to misunderstandings between peoples.

Whether majoring in Indigenous Studies or other disciplines offered at Trent University, Indigenous Studies courses offer students the knowledge and understanding of who they are and how their academic experience is connected to the reality of being Canadian. A minor in Indigenous Studies will give you the opportunity of understanding and working with Indigenous Peoples, communities and issues which are at the forefront of the Canadian academic, legal, business and political challenges which are confronting the international and domestic societies today.

Indigenous Studies provides students with the opportunity to become acquainted with a number of fields including Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, the practical application of legal, business, policy, history, contemporary issues, urban, reserve and off-reserve experiences of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous arts, literature and culture, and theoretical and methodological grounding in a variety of approaches to the work they will do when they graduate or continue in post-graduate studies.