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College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences
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Native American Rights Seminar

Purpose:

  • Explore frameworks, concepts, models, and examples from diverse, historic and ongoing struggles for Native American Rights that individual students can utilize as they grapple with the courageous, difficult, and complex history of Native American relations in the United States
  • Encourage and foster a “community of belonging” at BYU
  • Provide students with knowledge, skills, resources, personal connections, and networks necessary to participate in dialogues and efforts to improve Native American relations today.

Student Expectations:

  • Diligent Student
    • Students are expected to come to class well-prepared, having completed their weekly assignments, and ready to engage in meaningful dialogue.
  • Engaged Participant
    • This seminar will consist of a group of diverse individuals who will engage with the topics of Native American rights and realities. Because of the weight of these topics, students are expected to communicate with respect, compassion, and honesty.
  • Active Citizen
    • This seminar is designed for students to develop an informed perspective on Native American rights. With this understanding, students will be more prepared to support Native American sovereignty and cultivate racial equality within their everyday interactions, among their friends and families, and throughout their broader communities.

Seminar Highlights:

Students will have the opportunity to engage Native American scholarship and relationships with present-day communities that are central to the discourse and practice of Native American rights today. Students will also have opportunities to visit important historic sites that document Native American rights history and to learn from individuals who have participated in important past and present movements.

Attendance Requirements:

  • Minimum Requirements:
    • Be registered as a daytime-continuing student at BYU for the Winter semester
    • Complete application by deadline
  • Acceptance considerations:
    • Not all applicants will have the opportunity to be interviewed
    • Seminar administrators will select applicants for interviews to make some determinations regarding the applicants':
      • Connection to, interest in, and/or understanding of Native American history and current communities
      • Interest in and potential for actively participating in community building and mentorship
      • Commitment to the Seminar as an academic experience
      • Commitment to generating, facilitating, and participating in dialogue about potentially sensitive matters in a forthright, thoughtful, courteous, and constructive manner

Important Dates:

  • October 4, 2024
    • The application is due by 11:59 pm without exception
  • November or December (post admission notification)
    • Striving to create a “community of belonging” amongst Seminar faculty, administrators, and students, at least one informal social gathering will be organized to invite participants past and present.
  • Winter Semester (Fridays)
    • Class will take place each Friday (time and room number to be determined). To facilitate conversation and make allowance for processing the material, class will last 1 hour and 15 minutes. Conflicts with other classes, even for small overlaps, will disqualify students from participating.
    • Attendance will factor heavily into the final grade, and so every necessary preparation is required to not only ensure no class periods are missed, but also promptness and full attendance for each class period.
  • March 13-17
    • We anticipate leaving Wednesday evening and returning late Sunday night. Specific departure and arrival times are to be determined.
  • Early April
    • Similar to the late-Fall gathering, Seminar faculty, administrators, and students past and present will be invited to an informal gathering.

Cost:

The Native American Rights Seminar is made possible by the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, which covers the entire cost of participants' airfare, hotels, and transportation, as well as some meals.

Application & Selection Timeline:

The seminar application will become available October 1. The application must be completed in its entirety by 11:59 p.m. on October 4. Applications submitted by the deadline and that demonstrate minimum eligibility will be reviewed for interview consideration. Applicants selected for interviews will meet with 2 or more Seminar faculty/administrators. The applicants who are ultimately selected for the Seminar will be determined by:

  • The number of applications received
  • The number of eligible applicants
  • Interview insights and information
  • Group dynamics
  • Program logistics

Final decisions for all applicants, regardless of interview status, will be communicated by November 1.

Please visit native.byu.edu for more information about other Native American related campus resources and events.

    If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding the Native American Rights seminar application or process, please send an email to: americanindianstudies@byu.edu.

    Apply Here