Course Content and Outcomes Guides (CCOG)

CCOG for ATH 231 Winter 2025


Course Number:
ATH 231
Course Title:
Indigenous Cultures and Communities of the Pacific Northwest
Credit Hours:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Discusses the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest from an anthropological perspective. Covers historical and contemporary cultures, concerns, and issues of Indigenous peoples living in Washington, Alaska, and Southwest Canada. Considers systems of power and social justice issues impacting Indigenous peoples in this region. Prerequisites: WR 115, RD 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement test scores. Audit available.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

  1. Describe the past and contemporary cultures of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest from an anthropological perspective.
  2. Analyze the values, beliefs, languages, kinship, marriage customs, politics, economics, and technological practices of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest.
  3. Examine and discuss power structures and social justice issues related to Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest from an anthropological and cross-cultural perspective.
  4. Describe how fur trapping, trading, treaties, assimilation policies, boarding schools, reservation and urban life and other factors impact historical and contemporary Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. 

Social Inquiry and Analysis

Students completing an associate degree at Portland Community College will be able to apply methods of inquiry and analysis to examine social contexts and the diversity of human thought and experience.

General education philosophy statement

General Education courses in anthropology encourage students to develop skills and abilities in critical thinking and cross-cultural analysis. These courses introduce students to anthropological concepts, theories and methods of inquiry, explore the cultural interconnections between individuals and social institutions, analyze cultural systems and structures of power, and use the comparative method to study the diversity of human thought and experience. This class focuses on the topic of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest.

Course Activities and Design

Course activities may include any of the following:

  • lectures
  • discussions
  • presentations
  • guest speakers
  • field experiences
  • museum visits

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Assessment strategies may include any of the following:

  •  exams (take home or in class)
  • quizzes
  • short papers
  • term papers
  • field projects

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

Themes:

  • Indigenous cultures
  • Indigenous past 
  • Origin Stories and World Views
  • Culture and Geography
  • BIA
  • U.S. government treaties and policies
  • reservations and urban life

Issues:

  • history of the Pacific Northwest
  • U.S. government treaties and their effects
  • political conflict and Indigenous peoples resistance

Concepts:

  • Culture
  • Sociopolitical organization
  • Sociolinguistic organization
  • Culture Ecology
  • Linguistics
  • History
  • Assimilation
  • Acculturation
  • Cultural Relativism
  • Ethnocentrism

Skills:

  • read and write at the college level