Gwen Westerman facts for kids

Gwen Nell Westerman 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. She was appointed by Governor Tim Walz as Poet Laureate of Minnesota in September 2021.

Life and career

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

Education

Westerman received a BA and MA in English from Oklahoma State University. She received a PhD in English from the University of Kansas.

Awards

• 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.
• 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