Science fiction remains an enduring touchstone of pop culture, but the genre isn’t limited to spaceships and aliens like in the recent “Project Hail Mary” movie — no offense, Ryan Gosling. Science fiction is also an area researched by scholars for encompassing a perspective on our current culture, collective past and the varying viewpoints of its creators.
Michigan State University Assistant Professor Blaire Morseau has a background in cultural anthropology and is a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. At MSU, Morseau merges science fiction and Indigenous culture in her research and teaching, including in her role as the 1855 Endowed Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities and Cultural Practices in the Department of Religious Studies.
Her most recent book, “Mapping Neshnabé Futurity: Celestial Currents of Sovereignty in Potawatomi Skies, Lands and Waters,” provides insights on Indigenous speculative fiction to illustrate the profound ways in which Anishinaabe/Neshnabé (Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe) communities are reclaiming their sovereignty and crafting vibrant futures.