NOTE: This Discovery Seminar is restricted to students in the Native UW Scholars program only. Link to apply to Native UW Scholars is listed below. 

This is a class designed by Indigenous faculty specifically for first-year Indigenous students. This seminar is part of an ongoing effort by UW faculty, staff, and students at the University of Washington to foster respect for Indigenous knowledge and support for Indigenous peoples on campus and in the surrounding area. This class will start by (re)considering who we are, where we come from, how we have arrived at UW, and why it is important to learn and unlearn together via mutual recognition and respect.

We will visit with Indigenous Peoples and places across the UW campus to jumpstart mutually sustainable relationships grounded in respect, reciprocity, relevance, and responsibility.   This course focuses on experiential learning, a process where students develop knowledge, skills, and values from direct experiences outside a traditional academic setting. Students will engage Indigenous stories, colonial histories, and current realities by engaging in a large variety of classroom and community-based activities. Our analysis and discussions will be placed within the context of resistance and cultural resiliency, strength, and survival. Increasing awareness of Indigenous cultures, histories, and practices is a fundamental part of ensuring that the University of Washington recognizes, values, and strengthens Indigenous futures.

This seminar will be made up of first-year Indigenous students who want to connect with and be a part of the Indigenous community at UW. Students should be interested in learning with, by, and for Indigenous Peoples and places, in bringing more equity and social justice into any profession or field of study, and in getting to know Indigenous cultures at the UW and around Seattle. This course welcomes Indigenous students in any discipline who want to develop their capacity for living and working in better relation with all beings as a means to create more sustainable relationships for their work moving forward.

Learn more about the UW Native Scholars program: https://caiis.uw.edu/native-uw-scholars-nuw-scholars/

If you identify as an Indigenous student and wish to take this course, apply here: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E0W0ezZA_FlRjlL3gghJZ3fymKwi2oU5XmmoR_hUfi0/viewform?ts=65ef72ba&edit_requested=true

Learn more about the instructors for this course: 

https://ais.washington.edu/people/jean-dennison

https://ais.washington.edu/people/charlotte-cote

https://ais.washington.edu/people/jessica-bissett-perea