Michael Leonard Cox

Michael Leonard Cox, Ph.D.

Michael Leonard Cox is a Lecturer in the American Indian Studies Department at San Diego State University, as well as a Professor of History in the Social Sciences Department at San Diego Mesa College, where he has taught since 2015. At Mesa College, Cox also serves as Coordinator of the Constance M. Carroll Humanities Institute, as faculty advisor for the Native American student club, as well as on several committees related to curriculum, diversity, campus education, and equity. Previously, he was a faculty member at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma for two years, following upon serving as a part-time instructor for a total of seven years at a community college, two state universities, and a private university in both Ohio and California. Before transitioning to full-time teaching, he worked for four years on a Department of Education-funded research project on accommodation of disabilities in primary and secondary schools with the University of Dayton as well as in a grant writing and grant evaluation consortium of K-16 schools.

Originally from rural southern Ohio, Cox earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Ohio University, a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of Oklahoma, and a Doctoral degree from the University of California, Riverside focusing on Native American History in the 19th century. Cox also holds a Graduate Certificate in Native American Studies from Montana State University.

His dissertation, “The Ohio Wyandots: Religion and Society on the Sandusky River, 1795-1843,” is an analysis of the intersections of racial identity, religion, economic activities, and political position in an Indigenous community undergoing rapid changes in the face of settler colonialism and American expansion, particularly the policy and practice of Indian Removal. Cox has published three book chapters focusing on Native American identities, an article on education policy, a number of book reviews, and has presented research at academic conferences for twenty-five years. Cox is interested in various aspects of cultural change and continuity, with particular focus on religion/belief systems, personal identities, and community adaptation/ethnogenesis. He is currently planning a new project focusing on the historical treatment of disability in Native American communities.