Department ofReligion

Suzanne Crawford O'Brien's area of specialization is Religion and Culture, with emphases in Native American religious traditions, and comparative studies of minority religious communities in North America, including religion and healing, gender and ethnicity, and religion and popular culture. Her research interests address questions of healing, place, and ecology, and how religious belief and practice can work to promote ecological and social justice. Her recent publications include the three-volume American Indian Religious Traditions: An Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2005), Native American Religious Traditions (Prentice Hall and Laurence King, 2007), and Religion and Healing in Native America: Pathways for Renewal (Praeger, 2008).  Her monograph Coming Full Circle: Spirituality and Wellness Among Native Communities in Western Washington is forthcoming from University of Nebraska Press.