Michael John Bowden OAM (21 March 1947 – 11 April 2020) was an Australian rules football player and Indigenous advocate.

Following his playing career he became an educator in the Northern Territory and a passionate advocate for Indigenous communities, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

[1][2] He left the seminary after two years and returned to Richmond, where he made his senior league debut in round 8 of the 1967 season, playing as a ruck-rover.

Bowden became a teacher, and eventually principal, of remote community schools for Indigenous Australian students in the Northern Territory.

[4] He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory in January 2020.