While Tufts has long claimed to be a purveyor of culture and diversity, some members of the Tufts community are less than satisfied with the number of courses pertaining directly to Native American issues offered at the University.
On Mar. 15, at the fifth annual Native American Speakers Series featuring Barry Dana, the former Chief of the Penobscot Nation, English Professor Elizabeth Ammons said that the University has a "lot of work to do" in terms of Native American Studies.
"It is important to remind ourselves that Tufts graduates can graduate knowing nothing about Native America," Ammons said.
According to Ammons, there are currently four courses available that are entirely devoted to Native American concerns and a fifth course will be added to the curriculum next year.
Ammons herself teaches a course called "American Indian Writers." American Studies Professor Joan Lester teaches three courses on relevant topics including, "Native American Issues," "Native American Art: Beauty and Meaning," and a new course called "Museums and Native Americans: The Politics of Representation."
According to the University's History Department's Web site, a course entitled "Native American History" is slated to be offered in Fall 2006.
In addition to concerns regarding the number of courses offered, both Ammons and Lester said they are concerned with the lack of Native American perspectives on campus, considering that none of these available courses are taught by Native Americans.
Dean of Undergraduate Education Jim Glaser expressed little alarm with regard to the lack of Native American courses, as well as an alleged discrepancy between existing classes and the ethnicities of those teaching them.
"I don't see it as a big problem," Glaser said. "I haven't heard anyone complain about it." Glaser said that "resource limitations" hamper the University's ability offer "anything and everything."
"There are certainly gaps in the curriculum," Glaser said. But, with regard to whether or not the University should offer more Native American courses, Glaser said, "I think if you talk to people who care most about it, that they would say 'yes.'"
Lester, however, said she feels that Native American voices are imperative to her students' understandings of Native concerns.
"I understand that I don't have the right to teach without Native voices," Lester said. "I don't speak for Native people. What I'm committed to is deconstructing the role that non-native people have played in the creation of an American history that excludes native perspectives, and looking at how native people continue to be marginalized today."
In order to bridge the gap between her own non-Native heritage and the voices of those she studies and teaches, Lester said she found it necessary to invite Native speakers to her class and to provide reading material directly written by Natives.
While Lester said she "would always love for there to be more [Native American classes]," she was quick to add that the progress that has been made within the last five years in terms of broadening the Native American voice on campus, has been slow but steady.
Lester, who has been teaching at the University since 1986, said that only one course in the American studies department on American Indians - her own general instruction of Native issues - was available to students up until 2000. According to Lester, the then-chair of the American studies department was eager to accept proposals for her newest brainchild - a course on Native American arts.
Dartmouth College and the University of Connecticut (UConn), however, offer their students the opportunity to major in Native American Studies (NAS).
The Department of NAS at Dartmouth, led by Department Chair Collin Calloway, offers students approximately 15 to 20 courses pertaining wholly to Native American concerns. According to Calloway, it is estimated that 400 to 500 students enroll in these classes each year.
In contrast, Lester said that about 50 to 70 students enroll in Native American classes annually at Tufts.
In addition, the department of NAS Web site at Dartmouth lists several professors who themselves are Natives, including Professors Darren Ranco and Dale Turner.
Other universities are following suit. According to the Yale Daily News, there is a movement at Yale University among both professors and students to start a program similar to the NAS at Dartmouth. Yale will also follow the lead of Harvard University, which has had a Native American Studies program since the 1970s.
Tufts students interested in majoring in Native American Studies must settle for an American Studies major with a concentration in Native American topics.
Freshman Kristen Dorsey, an American Studies major concentrating in Native American and Environmental Justice Studies, has studied under Lester since her first semester at Tufts. Dorsey said she will continue to do so even after she has exhausted her cluster requirement.
"There are a few more courses I can take. Other than that I will have to choose independent study," Dorsey said.
Still in her first year, Dorsey has already taken nearly half of the available courses for her concentration requirement.
For the time being, Lester said she encourages all of her students to pursue an independent study tailored to their particular interests in the realm of Native American concerns.
According to the University's 2004-2005 Fact Book, there are currently 21 undergraduates who identify themselves as Native Americans.
Dorsey, who is herself part Chickasaw Choctow, said she would "definitely" like to see more courses on Native topics. She also said she would like to see Native professors teaching the courses.
"For so long, people have tried to speak for Native people and they, for the most part, are totally wrong," Dorsey said. "[Lester] acknowledges this as she teaches us and brings Native voices into the classroom."
Even students who are not affiliated with Native American Studies are eager to see more academic exposure for the culture. Sophomore Theresa Pecoraro, an International Relations and Community Health double major, said it is "embarrassing that a school that prides itself as being so culturally aware" fails to offer more courses on "Native people and Native America."
"It's so necessary if we live in America to know about the history of this land because this country was not empty when we came here," Dorsey said. "There are so many beautiful values of the culture that everyone can benefit from knowing, but may never have the chance to."
