Graduation: Spring 2023
Research Topics: Missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW), domestic and sexual violence in Native American communities, Ojibwe horses and their relationship to Ojibwe people, and decolonizing research methods.
Awards: Counsel of Social Work Education’s Minority Fellowship Program (2021-2023), University of Washington’s American Indian Studies Scholar (2021), Chosen for the Presidential Dissertation Award (2022), Indigenous Wellness Research Institute’s Substance Abuse, Medicines, and Addictions Research Training Fellowship (2019).
Em’s research primarily focuses on MMIW, domestic and sexual violence in Native communities, with an additional special interest in decolonizing research methods to take a more community-based approach, as well as the relationship between the critically endangered Ojibwe horse and their Ojibwe relatives. Em is White Earth Ojibwe and feels strongly about the wellness and future of her community and other Indigenous ones, drawing from her practice background of working with the Chicago urban Indian community. She is also the founder of The Humble Horse, a 501(c)3 dedicated to the education and preservation of the Ojibwe horse and their relationship to the Anishinaabe people. She strives to bring more Indigenous perspectives into research, the classroom, and the thriving of future Indigenous social workers and researchers.
Email: eloerzel@uw.edu