Suzanne J. Crawford

A fourth generation Oregonian, Suzanne Crawford O’Brien was raised with a deep love for the Cascade mountains and coastal cliffs of the Pacific Northwest. That love inspired her work, teaching and writing about Indigenous environmental justice. She serves as Professor of Religion and Culture at Pacific Lutheran University, where she is affiliate faculty in the Native American and Indigenous Studies, Environmental Studies, Global Studies, and Holocaust and Genocide Studies programs. She received her B.A. from Willamette University, her M.A. from Vanderbilt University, and her Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Barbara.

Dr. Crawford O'Brien's publications address the intersections of health, wellness, cultural revitalization and ecological justice for Indigenous communities. Her books include Religion and Culture in Native America (Rowman and Littlefield 2020), Coming Full Circle: Spirituality and Wellness Among Native Communities in the Pacific Northwest (University of Nebraska 2014), Religion and Healing in Native America: Pathways for Renewal (Praeger 2008), and Native American Religious Traditions (Routledge 2006). She has contributed to numerous books and journals, such as Religion at the Edge: Nature, Spirituality, and Secularity in the Pacific Northwest (UBC 2022), Native Foodways: Indigenous North American Religious Traditions and Foods (SUNY 2021), Religion, Food and Eating in North America (Columbia University Press, 2014), and The Columbia Guide to Religion in American History (Columbia 2014).

Suzanne lives in the traditional territories of the Coast Salish, making her home in Seattle with her spouse Michael and their son Declan.