Indigenous people have been coming to what is now the state of Ohio for thousands of years, and the series of large-scale geometric, boundary, and effigy earthworks still visible in central and southern Ohio bear witness to our region's historical importance as a center for economic, spiritual, artistic, and intellectual endeavor and exchange.
Central Ohio is a traditional homeland of the Shawnee Nation; Delaware, Wyandot, and other Indigenous nations also have strong ties to these lands.
Over one hundred years ago, in October 1911, the Society of American Indians (SAI), the first American Indian activist association organized and run by Native people themselves, held its first meetings on the campus of The Ohio State University.
Today, individuals from a broad range of Indigenous backgrounds call Columbus and central Ohio home.
The American Indian Studies Program Plays Several Roles at Ohio State
- We offer an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor.
- We collaborate with other university programs and departments to develop AIS programming.
- We work with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Multicultural Center to promote awareness of Native issues on campus and to promote the recruitment and retention of Native students.
- We work with departments to promote the hiring of faculty working in AIS fields.