Indigenous Studies Minor

 Indigenous-centered scholarship, research, and teaching at UB that is accountable and beneficial to the Haudenosaunee people of this territory. Multidisciplinary Indigenous-centered research and teaching that is accountable and beneficial to Indigenous nations, communities, and organizations in local, national and global contexts.

The University at Buffalo (UB) is located on the traditional territories of the Onödowa'ga:' (Seneca Nation), one of the Six member nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora)—and is in close proximity to a majority of the federally recognized Indigenous nations in New York State. UB is also located in a cross-border region that is home to a vibrant urban Indigenous population, and is only a short distance from Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest First Nations community in Canada.

To translate the acknowledgement of our location on Haudenosaunee lands into meaningful action, UB’s Department of Indigenous Studies works to honor our obligations to the Indigenous nations and to the treaties of this territory. The department recognizes Indigenous nationhood and sovereignty as foundational in our approaches to building ethical and productive research relationships with Native peoples and organizations both here and beyond this region. We are deeply committed to supporting present and future generations of Indigenous students and scholars. The Department of Indigenous Studies promotes research, educational and outreach initiatives aligned with community priorities to ensure the continuity of Indigenous knowledge and languages, and the health and sustainability of Indigenous people, land and water.