Bkanathmownen: Indigenous Science Fiction and Potawatomi Futurity
Blaire will be discussing a chapter from her forthcoming book, Mapping Neshnabé Futurity: Celestial Currents of Sovereignty in Potawatomi Skies, Lands, and Waters which investigates how Native peoples in the Great Lakes region leverage their traditional knowledge in environmental activism and in creative works of speculative fiction to reclaim Indigenous space and advance tribal sovereignty.
Speaker
Blaire Morseau is a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University where she is also Affiliate Faculty in Digital Humanities and American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Before becoming a professor, she worked as her tribe's first full-time archivist, launching an online collections and dictionary website called Wiwkwébthëgen using Potawatomi cultural protocols of access and traditional knowledge labels. She recently released an edited volume featuring the collection of antique birch bark books written by 19th century Potawatomi author, Simon Pokagon, titled, As Sacred to Us: Simon Pokagon’s Birch Bark Stories in their Contexts, published by MSU Press. Her research interests are in Indigenous science fiction and futurisms, traditional cultural and ecological knowledge, digital heritage, and Native counter-mapping.
About Colloquium
Colloquium is a weekly series of talks featuring staff, fellows, and scholars who are working with the library’s vast collections. These events bring together experts from various fields to share their research on a wide range of topics, followed by an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and engage in conversation.
Colloquium is open to the public and offers a chance to explore fascinating ideas and new discoveries. No advance registration is required.