Native American Studies
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Student Resources

Grand opening procession for the Smithsonian's National Museum (Sept 04)
Students accompanied NAS faculty in the grand opening procession for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (September 2004).

Other Resources…

MDS Bachelor’s Degree
 A minor in Native American Studies could be your key to a bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies. This versatile program allows students to complete the equivalent of three minors (min. 58 credit hours) to satisfy their undergraduate program. Check out the MDS program at: http://www.wvu.edu/~advising/MDS.htm

Eberly College Student Enrichment Fund
 Our faculty are strong believers in the concept of experiential learning. Students have taken part in faculty-led trips to West Virginia’s Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville, the Carnegie Museums of Natural History and Art in Pittsburgh, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, among other significant places. The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences has continually awarded funding to NAS students though its undergraduate student enrichment program, opening doors for an array of off-campus educational opportunities. Students have accompanied faculty to the National Congress of American Indians, the Native American Literature Symposium, The CIC-American Indian Studies Consortium Conference, the North American Iroquois Veterans Association Pow-wow Festival, and so on. To apply for undergraduate enrichment funding, log on to: http://www.as.wvu.edu/forms/ecugaep.html

In addition to this funding, the NAS Committee has regularly awarded assistance to graduate students and their NAS Committee advisors who were conducting research in the area of Native American Studies.

Native American Library Research Guide
Thanks to the talents of WVU Libraries’ Native American Studies bibliographer Anna Schein, readers and researchers can access a number of interesting and informative titles through the university libraries. Log on to the following site to see what’s available in your area of interest: http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/nativeamerican/

McNair Scholars Program
 The McNair Scholars Program is named for Ronald McNair, an African-American astronaut-physicist who died aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. The program is aimed at encouraging talented students from under-represented groups to advance to graduate school. Native American students are highly encouraged to apply. The application deadline falls in January. Refer to http://www.wvu.edu/~mcnair or call Dr. Betty Mei at (304) 293-4316 for information.

Reyer Tribal Community Development Awards
The Carolyn Reyer Awards for Tribal Community Development are awarded each spring to graduate students completing their dissertations or theses on topics related to Native American community development. Several individual awards of up to $5,000 will be made. Log on to: http://www.fredonia.edu/na/if_spaic.asp or contact Dr. Ted Jojola at the University of New Mexico for more details: tjojola@unm.ed or (505) 277-6428.

Other Resources...

Congressman Udall Scholarships
Go to: http://udall.gov/ and learn more about the scholarships named in honor of Congressman Morris K. Udall, a champion of Native American and Alaska Native rights in health care, the environment, and public policy. Nomination materials are mailed to faculty representatives in October and are due by early March.

AISES (American Indian Science & Engineering Society)
The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is an organization with student chapters located throughout the country. Although there is currently not an AISES chapter at WVU, the possibility of adding one has been discussed and may be revisited in the future. http://www.aises.org/

Check out Winds of Change
Winds of Change is a quarterly publication of AISES. The magazine is intended for an American Indian audience and focuses on career and educational advancement in the engineering and science fields. Readers are given information on scholarship opportunities, educational programs, and features on American Indian role models.

In addition, an annual college guide for American Indians is published each year.

Futures for Children Mentoring program
If you’d like to mentor an American Indian child who may need encouragement and support to complete high school, consider taking part in the “Futures for Children” program endorsed by our 2003 Elder-in-Residence, Peterson Zah (former President and Tribal Chairman of the Navajo Nation). College students are in a unique position to influence a child’s decisions about education. Your letters to a child at risk of dropping out of school could make an positive difference. For more information, log on to: http://www.futuresforchildren.org

Do you have suggestions for other links to student resources? Please let us know by contacting us at: Native_American_Studies@mail.wvu.edu or at 304-293-4626.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The WVU Native American Studies Program provides the above list of resources for informational purposes only, and not as a commercial or institutional endorsement for any non-WVU entity.