Susan Sleeper-Smith

Susan Sleeper-Smith is a Professor in the Department of History at Michigan State University, specializing in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Her academic work centers on historical encounters between Native Americans and Euro-Americans during the colonial and early national periods in North America.

Her research explores the fluidity of identity in borderland regions, with a focus on gender dynamics and religious influences (Catholicism and evangelical Protestantism). Key areas of interest include:

• Native American History
• Colonial and Early National History
• Borderlands and Cultural Exchange
• Gender and Women's History
• Religious History
• Fur Trade Studies

Professor Sleeper-Smith has authored influential books such as "Indian Women and French Men: Rethinking Culture Encounter in the Great Lakes" and "Rethinking the Fur Trade: Cultures of Exchange in an Atlantic World". Her scholarly articles appear in journals like Ethnohistory and The William & Mary Quarterly, often addressing themes of cultural interaction and indigenous perspectives.