ENVS 346: Indigenous Peoples, National Parks, and Protected Areas

Course Description

This course explores the historical and contemporary relationships of Indigenous Peoples, National Parks and Protected Areas. This course will look at Indigenous peoples of the United States and globally, whom have been directly impacted by the creation of the spaces of ‘wilderness.’ More specifically, this course will peel back the layers of the stated intentions of the conservation, environmentalism and preservation of National Parks and Protected Areas and the often glossed over or excluded question of ‘at what cost.’ This will challenge students to deconstruct the romantic cultural expressions of the pristine; explore the power dynamics (political, financial, social, etc) at play in the creation and perpetuation of these spaces, the reclamation of cultural interactions with these spaces, and the question of where do we go from here. Cross-listed: ANTHRO 346/ENV STDS 346/INDG ST 346