becoming good ancestors to future generations
We illuminate American Indian and Indigenous culture, the place of American Indian and Indigenous peoples in today’s world, and the changing demands of American Indian and Indigenous peoples in the pursuit of cross-cultural diversity.
Indigenous Studies at MSU
Undergraduate
graduate
community
Paula Gunn Allen
![Our actions today [...] are guided by our reflection on our ancestors’ perspectives and on our desire to be good ancestors ourselves to future generations. Kyle Whyte](https://aiis.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/sites/60/2021/08/Headshot-IMG_2337-150x150.png)
Kyle Whyte
![If a person wanted to get to the moon, there was a way; [...] it depended on whether you knew the story of how others before you had gone. Leslie Marmon Silko](https://aiis.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/sites/60/2021/08/920919c675c3a5892455e081ee4a45ea-150x150.png)
Leslie Marmon Silko
![The future of [humankind] lies waiting for those who will come to understand their lives and take up their responsibilities to all living things. Vine Deloria Jr.](https://aiis.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/sites/60/2021/08/Vine_Deloria-150x150.png)
Vine Deloria Jr.
featured News
Summer and Fall 2025 Courses
This is the current list of classes for Summer and Fall 2025 that we will count towards the AIIS Minor. If you happen to come across another class that has at least 1/3 AIIS related-content, let Kristin Arola know! Summer 2025 HST (History) 301: Indigenous-European Encounters in North America IAH (Integrative Studies Arts & Hum) 201: (D) Tensions between Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge. IAH (Integrative Studies Arts & Hum) 203: Latin America and the World (I) Fall 2025 AIIS (Amer Indian & Indigenous Stdy) 201: Introduction to American Indian and Indigenous Studies AIIS 490 and 493 (Internship and Independent Study) By Arrangement,
Kristin Arola Named Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
Kristin Arola has been named Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) at Michigan State University after serving as its Interim Director since Fall 2022. A first-generation descendant of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians, Arola also is the inaugural Karen L. Gillmor Endowed Professor in Professional and Public Writing and a Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures. “Together, I believe we can make MSU a premiere institution that supports American Indian and Indigenous students, staff, faculty, and Tribal Nations,” Arola said. “AIIS will continue to offer a
AIIS GA Joins First Sherpa Woman to Complete Great Himalaya Trail
How is MSU AIIS connected to the first Indigenous Sherpa woman to complete the Great Himalaya Trail? AIIS graduate assistant, Sophie Huss, traveled to Nepal last month to join Mingmar Dolma Sherpa for 12 days of her historic 140-day trek of the Great Himalaya Trail (non-technical route)! Together, they hiked to Chomolungma (so-called “Everest”) Base Camp as part of the Women Leaders on the Trail Campaign to elevate women guides and increase opportunities for Sherpa and Nepali women guides in Nepal. When asked about the experience, Sophie shared: “I left for Base Camp with a stranger and returned with