Despite the plethora of internationally oriented majors such as Middle Eastern Studies or British literature, the UW's diverse roster of majors has been missing a significant portion of national history and culture.

A new major is being offered at the UW beginning this year called American Indian Studies (AIS). AIS classes have previously been offered at the UW, but until now the focus was only offered as a minor.

"The main thing is that this puts AIS on the same par as any other research at the University," AIS Chair Tom Colonnese said.

The eight-member faculty has been working for five years to restructure the curriculum and build knowledge, said Mary Wright, an AIS senior instructor.

"We are trying to cover everything," she said.

Students at the UW have shown interest in an AIS degree for more than 30 years, Colonnese said.

"As a faculty member, it is nice to be able to respond to student desire," he said.

The department has set a goal of 10 students enrolled in the major by the end of this year, but it looks like there will be closer to 30 students, Wright said.

"In my first class this quarter, about two-thirds of the students had already taken an AIS class," Wright said. "Everyone was so excited about the development of the major. This offers our students a home on campus."

Colonnese estimates that the UW has about 500 American Indian students on campus, a number that he hopes to see grow with the establishment of this major.

"The UW resides on native land, and this honors that," Colonnese said.

The establishment of the AIS major is acting as a catalyst to the introduction of similar programs at other universities around the area, said Jonathan Tomhave, a communication Ph.D. candidate and a graduate of Native Voices. Native Voices is a program at the UW that allows Native America students to produce documentary films from an indigineous perspective.

There are a number of American Indian organizations on campus that put on events such as the Raven's Feast, an annual American Indian graduation ceremony.

"It's exciting because now there will be people attending [Raven's Feast] that will actually be graduating from the AIS program," Tomhave said.

Establishing this major as a part of the University gives AIS a sense of validity.

"We look at bodies of knowledge that belong in Universities," said Alexandra "Sasha" Harmon, an associate AIS professor, in response to the development of the major. "This means that we will be here as long as the University itself."

This is a great move toward establishing greater diversity within the UW.

"It says something about the overall diversity," Colonnese said. "It shows that diversity is important to the UW."

[Reach reporter Celia Hunko at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]