Author Sterling HolyWhiteMountain will speak at Montana State University on October 24 as part of the “Perspectives on the American West” series. The event, titled “On Storied Ground,” is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of American Indian Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m., and a catered reception will follow. The program is free and open to the public.
The talk is organized by MSU’s Ivan Doig Center for the Study of the Lands and Peoples of the North American West, in partnership with the Native American Studies and English departments and the American Studies program.
Meredith Hecker, head of the Department of Native American Studies, said, “We are honored to welcome Sterling HolyWhiteMountain to MSU. His work challenges us to think deeply about identity, place and the power of storytelling in Native communities. Events like this are amazing opportunities to help foster understanding and dialogue across cultures.”
HolyWhiteMountain grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation. He will discuss themes related to Blackfeet identity, Native place-making, obligations among people, and connections to land through literature.
His writing has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, ESPN, High Country News and Montana Quarterly. HolyWhiteMountain graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and serves as a Jones lecturer at Stanford University. He previously held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship for emerging writers.
Daniel Grant, director of the Doig Center, said, “HolyWhiteMountain’s writing belongs in the company of great Native fiction writers Louise Erdrich, Tommy Orange, James Welch and N. Scott Momaday, and he is among the newest, most compelling voices shaping the contours of the literary American West today.”
For further details or questions about upcoming events at MSU’s Doig Center for the Study of the Lands and Peoples of the North American West, contact Daniel Grant at daniel.grant1@montana.edu or visit their website.
