"I'm committed to uncovering the culture of my people. I'm committed to learning as much of the language as I can. I've always loved this land, and I've always loved Indian people. The more I dig into it, the more I interact with my Indian relatives, the more it blooms in my heart. The more it blooms in my spirit." -Chris La Tray
Meet the Author Event
Online Event - What Does It Mean to Be Landless? With Chris La Tray
Tuesday, April 21, 2026 from 6:30pm–7:30pm (Pacific Time)
Métis storyteller and 11th Montana state poet laureate Chris La Tray joins us to discuss the themes in Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home, opens a new window, largely the story of a people who were known as "the landless Indians" for nearly two centuries.
How is it possible that an Indigenous people of any land could ever be considered "landless" in the first place? How is that story reflected in today's world where more people are forced from their homes for any number of reasons not necessarily related to choices they've made, or forcibly removed, or deported?
About Chris La Tray
Chris La Tray, opens a new window is an Anishinaabe/Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and a citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. His first 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.
Chris served as the 2025 Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer at the University of Montana and was awarded the 2025 Montana Heritage Keeper Award by the Montana Historical Society. He has facilitated workshops for The Missoula Writing Collaborative, Yellowstone Forever, the Freeflow Institute, Writing the Wild, Orion, Torrey House Press, and others.
Chris writes the weekly newsletter "An Irritable Métis", opens a new window and lives near Frenchtown, Montana. He was the 11th Montana poet laureate from Aug. 2023 – Aug. 2025.
Read the Book
Becoming Little Shell - Growing up in Montana, Chris La Tray always identified as Indian. Despite the fact that his father fiercely denied any connection, he found Indigenous people alluring, often recalling his grandmother's consistent mention of their Chippewa heritage. Combining diligent research and compelling conversations with authors, activists, elders, and historians, La Tray embarks on a journey into his family's past, discovering along the way a larger story of the complicated history of Indigenous communities—as well as the devastating effects of colonialism that continue to ripple through surviving generations. And as he comes to embrace his full identity, he eventually seeks enrollment with the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, joining their 158-year-long struggle for federal recognition.
Learn More About Indigenous Tribes
- Indigenous Tribes of Seattle and Washington | American Library Association (ALA), opens a new window - find facts and links to the 29 federally recognized tribes throughout Washington state, as well as the Duwamish, Wanapum, and Chinook, who are not federally recognized.
- Indigenous Peoples | Washington Rural Heritage Archive, opens a new window - View a collection of historical photos of indigenous peoples of Washington state.
