美洲印地安研究所(Department of American Indian Studies)於1969年成立，是最早成立的相關系所。在60年代至70年代爭民權的時代裡，系所以歐美共同的線性分析，堅定的發展代表美洲印地安觀點和其所擁護的智慧。系所的基礎教育和訓練是從部落資源而來，像是部落長老、耆老和藝術家、作家、製片家和音樂家。綜合以上提供的教育資源，展現了所謂正規西方訓練中不會得到的特殊文化智慧和技能，對於了解美洲印第安文化都是非常重要且有用的。
Established in June of 1969, the Department of American Indian Studies is the oldest such program in the country with departmental status. Founded amidst the civil rights struggles of the sixties and early seventies, the program has long been committed to the development of theories and methodologies that reflect American Indian perspectives and it embraces ways of knowing that stand in contrast to the linear analytic Euro-American studies typically found in colleges and universities.
The department''s base of formally educated and institutionally trained academicians is being supplemented increasingly by community resource people, including traditional leaders, elders and American Indian artists, writers, film makers, and musicians. Incorporation of such contributors into the teaching program acknowledges unique cultural wisdom and skills that are not typically available in formal, western institutions, but that are nonetheless essential to an understanding of American Indian cultures.