“Since time immemorial” means something has existed for hundreds or thousands of years. In our cultures, we say we have been here in the Americas “since time immemorial.” In this class, starting with North America thousands of years ago, we will move through different eras of Native American history (United States based) to the present time. We will end the course with a fun class on Native pop culture!

This class is a great follow-up to Who Are Native Americans. It is not required to take that class before enrolling in this course, however I highly recommend doing so first! 

This class is designed to pair with Native American Regions of North America. Either course, Regions or Since Time Immemorial, can be taken in any order. They both stand alone and a student can take one class or the other, it is not required to take both.  

I will teach using a combination of PowerPoint, video, and lecture. 
This class is taught by a Native American person and from a Native perspective. This is a lecture style class.

Class 1. Since Time Immemorial – Going back thousands of years, we will discuss many civilizations throughout the America. You will learn about cities, scientific advancements, architecture, art, and many other aspects of Native cultures in the past. 

Class 2. Invasion (Contact) – Often called “contact” or “exploration,” this class will discuss the events that took place as European nations came to North America and claimed that it was theirs. We will talk about how Native nations responded and were impacted. 

Class 3. Self-defense and Treaties – We will discuss how Native nations defended ourselves from being taken over throughout North America. Sometimes we were successful, other times we were not. Natives also made political agreements with other Native nations and Europeans. We will talk about how the United States would not exist without treaties. 

Class 4. Removal and Reservations – After the United States was formed, Native nations were forced away from their homelands and into places called Reservations. We will talk about this process, why reservations were created, and what they actually were to Native peoples.

Class 5. Allotment, Assimilation, and Boarding Schools – Starting in the late 1800s, the United States created laws to force Native peoples into a different way of life. Native children were taken away from their families to harmful Boarding Schools. We will discuss what these laws were and how they harmed Native communities. **see note at bottom of description**

Class 6. Termination, Relocation, and Self-Determination – Laws in the 1900s continued to harm Native nations. We will talk about United States policies like Termination and the relocation of many Native peoples into cities. We will also discuss how Native people kept our cultures and traditions alive and formed organizations to improve their lives.

Class 7. Native America Today – After so much happened in history, Native Americans survived and are still here today. We will discuss the many ways in which Native peoples keep our cultures alive, fight to protect our lands and communities from harm.

Class 8. Native Pop Culture – In the final class, we will discuss the world of modern Native American pop culture. We will talk about Native musicians, actors and actresses, artists, fashion designers, IndigiPop X, video games, and other Native made games. Pop culture is a great way for Native peoples to celebrate who we are!

**Note – If you have taken Native American Boarding Schools with me, class number 5 will be the same lesson. If you want to take this 8 week course but skip class 5 because you have already taken that class, please let me know the date you took the class and I will refund you the cost of that session. You can also come for class 5 as a review if you wish to do so.**