Lang Center

for Civic & Social Responsibility

The Native Indigenous Peoples website at Swarthmore College will provide important links between events, courses, programs and related presentations for and by Native Americans, Indigenous Peoples and First Nations.

These include talks and lectures, formative Land Acknowledgement, college and community programs, and recognition of Indigenous Peoples here in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas, along with revitalization of suppressed and erased histories and cultural achievements of Native peoples.

In academic terms, these include social change and sustainability programs by the Lang Center for Social and Civic Responsibility, and various disciplines, including Sociology / Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Peace and Social Conflict, Languages, Humanities and Historical Comparative studies.

We also endeavor to build a foundation on which to build college-wide programs – for students, faculty, staff and community members – adding Indigenous diversity in culturally appropriate ways. 

Connect 

Faculty 

• Adrienne Benally, Environmental Studies Program
• James Fenelon, Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change
• Davina Two Bears, Department of Sociology & Anthropology 

Indigenous Speaker Series

Over the course of the 2021-2022 academic year, Swarthmore held an Indigenous speaker series. This series was geared towards bringing nationally known scholars, activists, and respected elders to share wisdom on Native Nations & Indigenous Studies programs, and current issues in general. Details and recordings of these events can be found here. 

Learn

Relevant Courses

• ANTH 034C. Native American Cultures and Contemporary Music 
• ANTH 034D. Indigenous Archeology
• ARTH 001N. First Year Seminar: Indigenous Art, Land, and Environment.
• ARTH 007. Modern and Contemporary Indigenous Art
• ARTH 061. Art and Culture of Indigenous Philadelphia: From Shackamaxon to the Present
• ARTH 079. Indigenous Arts of the Americas
• ENVS 014. Environmental Issues in Native American Communities
• ENVS 049. Indigenous Food Sovereignty  
• ENVS 050. Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Impacts
• LING 035. Indigenous Languages of the Americas
• LING 061. Structure of Navajo
• MUSI 009. Native American Culture & Contemporary Music

• SOCI 031C. Indian Nations and Native Nations 

• SOCI 041C. Indigenous Peoples and Globalization