Kari Lewis’10
Native American Studies mod. w/ Studio Art, Russian Language
F08-S09 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: I love the accessibility of professors and that they care very much about the Native American community. The department is small, but if you have interest in another field outside of NAS, it is very easy to modify your major and find something that fits you.

Important info for potential majors: I recommend taking NAS 8 and 14 as first classes. NAS 8 is a prerequisite for the major. It is not required that you take it early, but it covers a range of material and introduces you to sources that might be useful in other classes. NAS 14 is a history class that covers contact to about 1830. It will help you establish a timeline in your head so that when you talk about specific events or issues in other classes, you will have a bigger picture of causes and effects.

Talk to me if: you’re interested in Native art or language.

Most valuable academic information learned: Get things done when you have the time. Whether it’s a prerequisite or a midterm paper, don’t put it off until the last minute. Time goes by fast at Dartmouth, and one less thing to worry about at the end makes life a lot less stressful.

Favorite class and professor: NAS 8 with Vera Palmer. This was my first NAS class and it is the prerequisite for the major. When I took it, it was a fairly small class. We had a variety of readings each week from different sources--Native and non-Native-- and discussions were always interesting. Even though you can take this class at anytime for the major, I recommend taking it early because it introduced me to a number of writers and scholars that I have needed to reference in papers for other NAS classes.

Major classes taken: NAS 8, 14, 15; SART 15, 26

Major journey: I was planning to be a Studio Art major when I came to Dartmouth, but I started taking classes in the NAS department and found that I really enjoyed that too. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do both. Fortunately, the NAS major is flexible, so I was able to modify and do both.

Major specific activities: NAD

Other activities: Polocrosse, Dartmouth Vegan Society

Off Campus Program: Russian LSA+ in St. Petersburg, 07X

Internship experience: Chickasaw Nation, Division of history and culture: I interned in the history department at the Chickasaw Nation library in Ada, OK, 08X