Elan Pochedley

Elan Pochedley serves as the 1855 Assistant Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities, and Cultural Practices within Michigan State University's Department of Religious Studies (College of Arts & Letters). An enrolled citizen of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, he documents how Anishinaabe/Neshnabé nations integrate traditional ecological knowledge into contemporary ethical stewardship of mnomen (wild rice), migizi (eagles), name (sturgeon), and nibi (waters).

His educational background includes a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota with dual graduate minors in American Indian & Indigenous Studies and Heritage Studies & Public History. Research interests explore technological innovations in Anishinaabe cultural practices for sustaining relationships with non-human kin, positioning Indigenous knowledge systems at the intersection of environmental ethics and conservation science.

His publication on restorative cartography exemplifies interdisciplinary work bridging Indigenous spatial practices with sovereignty movements. Scientific recognition includes the Charles Eastman Fellowship at Dartmouth College. Research funding is secured through National Science Foundation and Mellon Foundation grants supporting his examination of Anishinaabe environmental ethics.

Current initiatives expand MSU's curriculum through the 1855 Professorship to center Great Lakes Native American cultures, with emphasis on sustainable stewardship frameworks derived from Anishinaabe knowledge traditions.