Chris La Tray

Chris La Tray is a writer who lives in Missoula, Montana. He is a member of the Little Shell [Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana] and also identifies as Métis. His first full-length book, One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays From the World At Large won the 2018 Montana [Book Award] and a 2019 High Plains Book Award. He published Descended From a Travel-worn Satchel, a book of haiku and haibun poetry, in 2021. His next book, Becoming Little Shell was published on August 20, 2024, by Milkweed Editions. It won a 2025 Pacific Northwest Book Award. La Tray was named Montana’s poet laureate for 2023-2024.
La Tray grew up in Frenchtown, Montana. His grandparents identified as Chippewa but his father denied the family's Native Americans in [the United States|Native American] ancestry. He was raised with a knowledge of his Chippewa background, but first became aware that his heritage was also Métis and Little Shell in his early 40s, a common experience for people of Little Shell heritage. His Métis great-great-grandfather worked an interpreter for the US Army, as he knew multiple languages, including French, English, Cree, Chippewa, Dakota, and Crow.
La Tray keeps a bi-weekly Substack newsletter called, "An Irritable Métis".
Prior to publishing full-length books, La Tray published numerous freelance nonfiction and short fiction pieces as well as photography, and was a regular contributing writer for the Missoula Independent.