Gwen Westerman

Gwen Nell Westerman is an 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 English from Oklahoma State University. She received a PhD in English from the University of Kansas.

Teaching career
She is Professor of English and Director of the Humanities Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Fiber arts
Westerman is a fiber artist who specialized 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 Sioux).
 * 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 (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