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AMST BC3300 Topics in American Studies: The Wealth of Natives. 4 points.

BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC I)., BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC II).
Not offered during 2022-23 academic year.

Indigenous people are often imagined in the distant past, or as living anachronisms in relation to contemporary life. Working against these assumptions, this course examines how Native peoples have survived colonialism, focusing on economic aspects of colonialism in North America. We will look at the long history of Native land struggles, and links between colonial economies and ecological destruction. Themes guiding our inquiry include: the development of wage labor, property law and economic production on Native lands, histories of political and economic dependency, "development" as defined and practiced over Native communities, and Native people's own economic choices. Our inquiry will be oriented towards deepening our ability to critically analyze the colonial situation we live in, and to see Indigenous survivals despite ongoing assaults against life and territory.