About the NAS Program
About Native American Studies at West Virginia University…
From our beginnings in the early 1980s, a cornerstone of our educational mission has been the belief that people must tell their own story, in their own words. Year after year, outstanding Native leaders have come to campus to share their insights--as elders in their Native communities, as authors, scholars, artists, activists, and cultural preservationists.
We have been blessed with visits from such distinguished individuals as Wilma Mankiller, Peterson Zah, Oren Lyons, LaDonna Harris, Luci Tapahonso, Leon Shenandoah, Suzan Shown Harjo, and many others (see Legacy of Distinction). As part of their regular coursework, students read Native news publications, and study films, artwork, and literature produced by Native people.
For years our program has been represented at such important annual gatherings as the National Congress of American Indians, the American Indian Studies Consortium, the Native American Literature Symposium, and at the 2004 grand opening ceremonies for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (continued below).
In addition, faculty and students regularly attend and participate in Native American cultural events in the region and beyond, enriching their cultural awareness and appreciation. NAS courses allow students to study and visit important nearby sites such as the Grave Creek Mound Archaeology Complex in Moundsville, West Virginia http://www.wvculture.org/sites/gravecreek.html, the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter in Avella, Pennsylvania http://www.explorepahistory.com/attraction.php?id=2708, and the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History http://www.carnegiemnh.org/exhibits/alcoa.htm, among others.