The Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the Brown School at Washington University was founded to provide scholarships for Native Americans and has grown into one of the most respected centers in the nation for academic advancement and study of Native American issues related to social work.

The Buder Center develops programs and curriculum, engages in research, builds relationships and partnerships with communities and people, and develops the ability of its students and alumni to make positive change in Native American communities.


Prospective Student Information & Scholarship Information

Our scholars come from all over the country with undergraduate degrees in diverse fields as health, social work, psychology, business, law and education.  Future professional interests include work in social services, education, school social work, community development, tribal law, health, mental health, substance abuse and public policy to name a few.  It is the combination of culture, spirituality, education, determination and hard work that makes the Buder Center Scholars ready to meet the needs and challenges of Native communities.

Projects & Resources

The Buder Center is involved in numerous community-based projects, research, and creating educational resources to promote equity and awareness of Native American people.

Historical and Intergenerational Trauma: Creating Culturally Safe Care for AIAN Populations with Jennifer Nanez (Acoma Pueblo), MSW, LMSW
Upcoming Events

33rd Annual Buder Center Powwow



Land Acknowledgement

The Kathryn M. Buder Center at Washington University in St. Louis occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Osage Nation, Otoe-Missouria, Illinois Confederacy, Quapaw, Ho-Chunk, Miami and many other tribes as the custodians of the land where we reside, occupy, and call home.

We recognize their sovereignty was never ceded after unjust removal and encourage your own research on tribal removal, tribal sovereignty and the history of the land you reside.

We promote the inclusion of tribal history and the incorporation of contemporary thoughts and actions into your work.

In offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm and support Tribal sovereignty, history and experiences by elders past, present, and seven generations yet to come through their continued connection to this land.