Mackinac Bands

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Ted Van Alst

Ted Van Alst is proud to serve on the MBCOI Council, with a strong commitment to advancing the interests of the community. With ancestral ties to the LeCuyers and deep roots in the Bay City area, where he spent summers growing up, Ted also spent time in the Upper Peninsula near Engadine. Although currently based in Portland, OR, he frequently visits St. Ignace and Mackinac and plans to retire in the area in a few years.

Ted has spent the past 20 years teaching Native American Studies in higher education. Holding a PhD from the University of Connecticut, he has served in various academic roles, including positions at Yale University and the University of Montana. A published author, Ted has written several award-winning books with the University of New Mexico Press, including Sacred Smokes, Sacred City, and Sacred Folks. He also co-edited the best-selling anthology Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology (Vintage / Penguin Random House).

Employment:

  • Tilikum Professor of Indigenous Nations Studies, Portland State University, 2018-present
  • Director, School of Gender, Race and Nations, Portland State University, 2019-2023
  • Associate Professor and Chair, Native American Studies, University of Montana, 2014-2018
  • Assistant Dean and Director, Native American Cultural Center, Yale University, 2010-2014
  • Assistant Professor, Co-Chair, and Director of Graduate Studies, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, University of Connecticut, 2008-2010

Artist-in-Residence:

  • Newberry Library Artist-in-Residence, 2024
  • Michigan State Historic Parks Mackinac Island Artist-in-Residence, 2024
  • Visiting Writer, Institute of American Indian Arts, 2019
  • Visiting Writer in Residence, University of Minnesota, Morris, 2019
  • Visiting Writer in Residence, Institute of American Indian Arts, 2016
  • Visiting Faculty, Literatures of Indigenous Peoples, NEH, University of Montana, 2015
  • Lecturer (courtesy), Yale School of Management, 2013-2014
  • Graduate Faculty, University of Connecticut, University of Montana, Purdue University

Education

  • Ph.D. in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, University of Connecticut, 2008
  • M.A. in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, University of Connecticut, 2007
  • B.A. in Behavioral Science, magna cum laude, University of Maine Presque Isle, 2004
  • A.A. in Social Science, magna cum laude, University of Maine Presque Isle, 2004