This study explores the transformation of American anthropology and its relationship with Native American peoples. Since its beginning in the late 1800s, the focus of American anthropology was Native American cultures because they were viewed as primitive cultures at the time. Biological, archaeological, and ethnographic studies were done by anthropologists not only to learn and understand Native American people but to document and preserve as much information as possible before the last of the "pre-historic people" disappeared. Literature from both Native and non-Native American scholars help to describe anthropology's past studies and shed light on its more recent improvements. To understand the local and current perceptions of Native peoples I conducted one-on-one interviews with twelve Native students attending Fort Lewis College to help shed light on their perceptions of anthropology today. It was found that six participants were very well-informed about anthropology while the other six were not. It was also found that all twelve participants supported the idea of studying other cultures so long as researchers stayed within their boundaries. This idea was emphasized most when discussing sacred traditions and NAGRPA laws governing the human remains of Native American ancestors. Altogether, these twelve individuals acknowledge anthropology's positive transformation, and they suggest improvements for future studies.
