Indigenous History

UWinnipeg is one of the first universities in the country to mandate that all students have a baseline knowledge about Indigenous people and culture. Approved in November 2015 by the University’s Senate, the new Indigenous Course Requirement (ICR) makes Indigenous learning part of the undergraduate degree requirements for all new UWinnipeg students, beginning in the fall of 2016.

Find approved courses meeting this requirement.

Indigenous History at the University of Winnipeg

The Department of History offers a broad selection of undergraduate courses on the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the Americas. From the early contact era to the signing of treaties to the dynamic changes in the Indigenous twentieth century, our courses cover key events, inter-cultural encounters and political, social and intellectual trends. Our courses also introduce students to the approaches and methodologies used by historians of Indigenous Peoples including oral and archival research. In addition to courses that focus on Indigenous Peoples’ history, there are many others that provide valuable opportunities to consider Indigenous history in the context of the historical construction of race, the historical relations of gender and social class, nationalist movements and social, political, economic and cultural change. Our Department’s areas of strength include histories of colonization, decolonization and diaspora, and histories of global oppression and resistance.

The Department of History supports graduate work in the field of Indigenous history. History faculty members supervise theses and comprehensive field exams on Indigenous history. For information on our Joint University of Winnipeg-University of Manitoba Masters Program, follow this link: http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/departments/history/graduate/jmpinfo.html.

With the University of Manitoba, we are a member of the Newberry Library Consortium in American Indian Studies, a group that offers a yearly round of opportunities for graduate students in the field of Indigenous history including a Spring Workshop, a Summer Institute, a graduate conference, and graduate fellowships. Follow this link to learn more: http://www.newberry.org/newberry-consortium-american-indian-studies.

Opportunities for students to explore Indigenous history in the department

The courses listed below and many others, cover topics of relevance to a broad understanding of Indigenous history. Not all of these courses satisfy the Indigenous Course Requirement (ICR).

Introductory Courses

HIST-1006 (3) Indigenous History to 1900: Origins, Contact, Colonialism
HIST-1007 (3) Indigenous History Since 1900: Racism, Resistance, Renewal
HIST-1008 (3) Colonial Genocides and Indigenous History
HIST-1015 (3) The Atlantic World: Europe and the Americas, 1700-1989

2000-Level
HIST-2114(3) From Columbus to Cook: European Encounters with Others, 1450-1800
HIST-2116(6) Survey History of Latin America
HIST-2117(3) From Sugar and Slaves to Samba and Soccer: History of Brazil
HIST-2118(3) Modern Mexico: From Acapulco to Zapatistas
HIST-2121(3) Environmental History of the Americas
HIST-2500(6) History of Canada to 1939
HIST-2503(3) Survey History of Canada: The Colnial ERA, 1500-1867
HIST-2504(3) Survey History of Canada: The National Era, 1867-1939
HIST-2505(3) Survey History of Canada: The Modern Era, 1939 to the Present
HIST-2610(3) Indigenous Peoples of Canada to 1815
HIST-2611(3) Indigenous Peoples of Canada Since 1815
HIST-2616(3) History of Indigenous Education: Residential Schools and beyond
HIST-2801(6) History of Canadian Art
HIST-2804(3) Secrets of Museums: A Critical Inquiry into the Origins and Culture of Western Museums

3000-Level
HIST-3001(6) Practice and Philosophy of History
HIST-3005(6) Introduction to Oral History
HIST-3115(6) The History of Spanish American Political Culture
HIST-3117(6) Columbus to Castro, a History of Cuba 1492-Present
HIST-3619(3) Indigenous Peoples and Christian Missions
HIST-3125(3) Topics in Contemporary Latin American History
HIST 3135(6) The Hudson’s Bay Company and the Modern Department Store
HIST-3542(6) Gender, Class, and Ethnicity in Canadian History
HIST-3544(6) History of Winnipeg
HIST-3545(6) Historical Perspectives on Women in Canada
HIST 3611(6) Colonial America, 1492-1783
HIST-3615(6) Material Culture in the History of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada
HIST-3616(3) History of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northern Plains
HIST-3617(3) Indigenous Peoples and Treaties
HIST-3622 (3) Indigenous Peoples of Arctic Canada
HIST-3623(3) Indigenous Women’s History
HIST-3625(3) History of the Métis in Canada
HIST-3632(3) History of the Haudenosaunee Peoples
HIST 3690 (3) Indigenous health History
HIST 3805 (3/6) Arts of the Arctic
HIST-3807(3/6) Topics in Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Canadian Art
HIST-3814(3/6) Indigenous ART

4000-Level
HIST-4103(6) Colonization and the Age of Modernity in Latin America
HIST-4111(6) Frontiers and Borderlands
HIST-4112 (6) History of the Atlantic World
HIST-4530(6) Advanced Studies in Canadian Social History
HIST-4570(6) Settler Colonialism

Centres supporting Indigenous Historical Research

The Riley Centre for Canadian History is located in Bryce Hall. It connects associations and organizations committed to researching the history of Canada. The Canadian History Centre also hosts an annual Lecture Series of visiting scholars who are leaders in the area of Canadian history. To learn more, see: http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/rileycentre-index.

The Oral History Centre is also located in Bryce Hall. It provides a collaborative context for learning about the practice and theory of oral history. Among other activities, the Oral History Centre is committed to supporting projects through individual advising and group workshops, consulting in oral history project development, training in oral history interviewing techniques, and providing equipment and training. To learn more about the Oral History centre, see: http://www.oralhistorycentre.ca 

The History Department is also affiliated with the Centre for Rupert's Land Studies, or CRLS. The Centre is located on the fifth floor mezzanine of the University Library. It facilitates scholarly research and publishing concerning the human history of the Hudson Bay watershed, known in the period from 1670-1870 as Rupert's Land. It also hosts a biannual colloquium and is the hub of a network of researchers with similar interests. For more on the CRLS, see: http://uwinnipeg.ca/rupertsland/