Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2026 - INDG 403 D100

Indigenous Knowledges (3)

Class Number: 3163

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 5 – Apr 10, 2026: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Eldon Yellowhorn
    ecy@sfu.ca
    1 778 782-6669

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units and one of INDG (or FNST) 101 or 201W, or permission of the instructor.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

This course explores the subject of traditional Indigenous knowledge and its contemporary implications for Indigenous programs in such areas as economic development, ecotourism, spiritualism, language retention, biodiversity, ethnoscience, environmentalism, and heritage conservation. Indigenous perspectives on patents, copyrights, and other creative products from traditional culture will also be examined through lecture, guest speakers and seminar presentation. Students with credit for FNST 403 may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

Students learn about the issues that Indigenous people encounter as they assert their right to manage their customary knowledge in a modern world system. Course content will be delivered via lecture and will examine the worldviews that informed the creators of this folklore and how we can understand it through a contemporary lens. Discussion will consider the circumstances at the intersection of tradition and modernity will include ethnoastronomy and the big bang theory, cognitive geography and cyberspace, intellectual property and indigenous rights, language revitalization and artificial intelligence, and orality and social media. Lectures will examine the tension created by ongoing changes to these subjects as outside pressures affect long-established customs. Assignments will consider the personal and public, as well as the local and global, aspects of practicing, protecting, and benefitting from ancient knowledge. Classroom discussion will consider the presentation of traditional knowledge as a personal pastime and a communal experience.

Grading

  • Assignment 1 10%
  • Assignment 2 10%
  • Assignment 3 10%
  • Book Report 15%
  • Book Club 10%
  • Midterm Exam 10%
  • Research Report 25%
  • Presentation 10%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Devil in Deerskins: My life with Grey Owl. 2014. Anahareo (Afterword by Sophie McCall). University of Manitoba Press.

Copies are available from the publisher for $27.95


ISBN: 9780887557651

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

NOTE re AI
Please note that submissions that employ generative AI tools in this course (for idea generation or other purposes) are not accepted by the Department. Your grade in this course is meant to reflect your personal engagement with course materials. If you are ever unsure about your instructor's stance on generative AI, please be sure to ask before submitting work using these tools: "If you are unsure, you must not assume that using generative AI is permitted." - SFU Academic Integrity
Those who employ these tools in their course submissions may face disciplinary action in accordance with SFU's academic integrity policies. https://www.sfu.ca/students/enrolment-services/academic-integrity/using-generative-ai.html

COPYRIGHT
Materials included in this course, unless otherwise stated, have been created by the Instructor, and reproducing or using this material outside of this course is not permitted unless written consent has been provided by the owner of this material. The course-based Canvas page and its related resources are maintained and developed by the Instructor for the use of the students registered to take this course. Course materials such as PowerPoint slides, lecture notes, the lecture itself and exams are all protected by copyright. Recording, copying or sharing these materials without permission may be a violation of Canadian copyright law and SFU policies. What does this mean? It means that you are legally not permitted to circulate the course materials to any other entity without explicit permission from the course author.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.