Gwen Nell Westerman^[1] is a Dakota educator, writer and artist. She is a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and the Director of the Native American Literature Symposium.^[2] She was appointed by Governor Tim Walz as Poet Laureate of Minnesota in September 2021.^[3]

Life and career

Westerman is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and speaker of the Dakota language.^[4] Through her mother, she is also Cherokee and grew up in Kansas.^[5] She is Professor of English and Director of the Humanities Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.^[6]

Education

Westerman received a BA and MA in English from Oklahoma State University. She received a PhD in English from the University of Kansas.^{[citation needed]}

1999 - Native American Inroads. The Loft, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mentor: Diane Glancy.
1999 - Native American Inroads. The Loft, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mentor: Susan Power.
2004 - Fellowship. The Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History. American Indian Programs. Research project: Traditional Dakota beadwork, under the direction of JoAllyn Archambault, PhD.^[7]
2012 - Douglas R. Moore Research Award Fellow. Minnesota State University, Mankato.^[7]
2012 - Presidential Teaching Scholar. Minnesota State, Mankato.^[7]
2013 - Minnesota Book Award—Minnesota Category.^[7]
2013 - Leadership in History Award. American Association for State and Local History.^[7]
2014 - Hognander Minnesota History Award^[8]
2014 - Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Minnesota State University, Mankato.^[7]
2015 - Native American Artist in Residence at the Minnesota Historical Society^[9]

Westerman, Gwen; White, Bruce (2012). Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0873518697.
Westerman, Gwen Neil (2013). Follow the Blackbirds. American Indian Studies. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. ISBN 978-1611860924.

Westerman, Gwen (2009). "Generosity in Continuance: The Gifts of Simon J. Ortiz". In Brill de Ramirez, Susan Berry; Lucero, Evelina (eds.). Simon J. Ortiz: A Poetic Legacy of Indigenous Continuance. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 177–182. ISBN 978-0826339881.
Westerman, Gwen (2009). "George Shiras, III". In Cevasco, George A.; Harmond, Richard P. (eds.). Modern American Environmentalists: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 470–472. ISBN 978-0801891526.
Westerman, Gwen (September 14, 2009). "Going Back". A View from the Loft. The Loft Literary Center. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
Westerman, Gwen (2012). "Sister Lost, Sister Found: Redemption in Louise Erdrich's The Painted Drum and Shadow Tag". In Hafen, P. Jane (ed.). Critical Insights: Louise Erdrich. Ipswich, MA: Salem Press. pp. 245–255. ISBN 978-1429837231.
Westerman, Gwen (2013). "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon". In Howe, LeAnne; Markowitz, Harvey; Cummings, Denise (eds.). Seeing Red—Hollywood's Pixeled Skins: American Indians and Film. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. pp. 25–29. ISBN 978-1611860818.

"Caske's Pardon 2012". Ded Uŋk'uŋpi—We Are Here (Exhibit Catalog). All My Relations Gallery and James J. Hill House Gallery. 2012.
"Mitakuye Owas (All My Relations)". Hena Uŋkiksuyapi: In Commemoration of the Dakota Mass Execution of 1862 (Exhibit Catalog). Hillstrom Museum of Art. 2012.

Authority control databases

Poet Laureate of Minnesota

Authority control databases
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