# Gwen Westerman

Gwen Nell Westerman is a Native American educator, writer, and fiber artist.
She is a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and the Director of the Native American Literature Symposium. Governor Tim Walz appointed her as Poet Laureate of Minnesota in September 2021.

## Background

Westerman is Dakota and Cherokee. She is an enrolled citizen of both the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation and the Cherokee Nation. She speaks the Dakota language. Her mother was Cherokee, and Westerman grew up in Kansas.

## Education

Westerman earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Oklahoma State University. She received a doctoral degree in English from the University of Kansas.

## Teaching career

She is a professor of English and director of the humanities program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

## Fiber arts

Westerman is a fiber artist who specializes in quilt-making.

## Awards

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

## Publications
### Books

* 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.
* Gwen Nell Westerman (2023). Songs, Blood Deep. Holy Cow! Press.

### Articles and chapters

* 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.

### Poetry

* "Dakota Odowaŋ". Yellow Medicine Review. 1 (1): 133–134. Spring 2007.
* "He keya Wo'okiye". Yellow Medicine Review. 1 (1): 135. Spring 2007.
* "Dakota Odowaŋ". Water-Stone Review. 13: 141–142. 2010.
* "Wowicak'u/Feed Them". Water-Stone Review. 13: 143. 2010.
* "Root Words". Natural Bridge. 26: 1. Fall 2011.
* "Where the Buffalo Roam". Natural Bridge. 26: 2–3. Fall 2011.
* "Awakening". Natural Bridge. 26: 4. Fall 2011.
* "Song for the Generations". Water-Stone Review. 15: 148–149. 2012.

### Art

* "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.