Christopher
Buck and Paula Bidwell

Christopher Buck (Ph.D., University of Toronto, 1996; J.D., Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 2006) is an attorney (Pittsburgh), independent scholar, faculty instructor at the Wilmette Institute (2001–present, Department of Bahá’í History & Texts, distance education), and former professor at Michigan State University (2000–2004, visiting assistant professor), Quincy University (1999–2000, visiting assistant professor), Millikin University (1997–1999, assistant professor) and Carleton University (1994–1996, sessional lecturer). Dr. Buck is the author of several books, including: Bahá’í Faith: The Basics (2021); God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America (2015), with an introduction by J. Gordon Melton (Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor University); Religious Myths and Visions of America (2009, “an original contribution to American studies,” Journal of American History, June 2011); Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy (2005), Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Baha'i Faith (1999), Symbol and Secret: Qur'an Commentary in Baha'u'llah's Kitab-i Iqan (1995/2004), and Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations (co-author, 2011). He has also contributed chapters in such books as: Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (2021); Winds of Change: The Challenge of Modernity in the Middle East and North Africa (2019, three chapters); The Bahá’í Faith and African American History (2019); ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey West: The Course of Human Solidarity (2013); Observing the Observer: The State of Islamic Studies in American Universities (2012); American Writers: "David Bottoms" (2018), British Writers: Ninian Smart ((2018); and "Edward Granville Browne" (2015), The Islamic World (2008), and The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an (2006/2017). He has published a number of academic journal articles and encyclopedia articles as well. As for popular, online articles, Buck has contributed over 350 articles to BahaiTeachings.org, and has collaborated with Kevin Locke (Tokaheya Inajin in Lakota, translation “First to Rise”), renowned Lakota hoop dancer and flutist, on the ongoing “Indigenous Messengers of God” series (80 articles so far, culminating in three articles on “Indigenous Land and Spiritual Acknowledgments”). In 2021, Buck and Locke teamed up to teach an online course, “The Great Spirit Speaks: Voices of the Wise Ones” (offered three times in 2021, by popular demand).

Paula Bidwell, an American Indian artist, author and speaker, partners with Lea Gerlach in the Many Hoops project manyhoops.com, based on healing the relationship between the early settlers and the original inhabitants of the United States, the American Indians. The project begins with the U.S. national holiday called “Thanksgiving”--often a child's first introduction to multicultural interactions--addressing the stereotypes used in school books and offering many culturally appropriate alternatives for teachers, parents and other educators. Paula and her husband Brian O’Flanagan are both members of the Baha’i Faith and currently live in Athens, Georgia.