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.
Her husband was the late Glenn Wasicuna, who was a professor and advocate of the Dakota language. Together, they appeared in documentaries, and served as members of the Indian Advisory Committee for the Minnesota Historical Society.

Career

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. She worked in corporate communications for several years before beginning work at MSU. Today, she is a professor of English and director of the humanities program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Westerman is a successful author. She was co-author of the book Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota, which won two Minnesota Book Awards. She has published poetry written in both English and Dakota, such as in her collection Follow the Blackbirds. In 2022, she received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.

Fiber arts

Westerman is a fiber artist who specializes in quilt-making. She has served as an artist-in-residence at the Great Plains Art Museum and the Minnesota Historical Society. She also has work in the permanent collections of the aforementioned museums, along with the University Art Galleries at the University of South Dakota and the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota.

Awards

Books

  • Gwen Nell Westerman. Songs, Blood Deep. Holy Cow! Press.

    Articles and chapters

  • Poetry

  • Art

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