This upper division program teaches from a Native-based perspective within the context of the larger global society and is designed for students who have social, cultural or economic ties to tribes. The curriculum is built around three themes that rotate one per year. For 2014-2015 the theme is Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development.

In fall, students introduced to the major trends and issues in Tribal Administration, by comparing and contrasting different approaches to tribal management development and the factors contributing to successful nation building.  During winter quarter, students will learn about Ethics for Tribal Vitality , which is an exploration of major ethical theories and their applications to a variety of current issues. Students will explore various Native perspectives on ethics and the ways in which they are manifest in contemporary Native America.  Developing analytic skills and critical thinking are a key aspect of this course through, amongst other things, the analysis of cases studies on current issues in Indian communities. In spring, students will be enrolled in Profiles in Leadership , which explores leadership in both mainstream and tribal contexts; students will examine how political and social forces create leaders and make history. 

There are five curricular elements of the program: Core Course, Integrated Skills, Strands, Integrated Seminar, and Independent Study. The Core Course, taught from a tribal perspective in a global community, is a nine-credit unit within the program taught at all sites at the same time with the same readings and assignments, but allows for faculty/student innovation and site specification. Integrated Skills, including critical thinking and analysis, research and writing, public speaking, collaboration, personal authority, and indigenous knowledge, are taught across the curriculum, integrated into all teaching and learning at the sites and at Saturday classes. Strands, another element, are two-credit courses taught on four Saturdays per quarter, which allow for breadth in the program and make it possible to invite professionals and experts in specific fields to offer courses that otherwise might not be available to students in the program. The Integrated Seminar held on the same four Saturdays as the Strands is called Battlegrounds, and is a one-credit workshop generally built around native case studies. The program also includes student initiated work through Independent Study.