Chris La Tray
Author from Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chris La Tray (born April 4, 1967) is a writer who lives in Missoula, Montana. He is a member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and also identifies as Métis.[1][2] His first full-length 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. He published Descended From a Travel-worn Satchel, a book of haiku and haibun poetry, in 2021. His next book, Becoming Little Shell was published on August 20, 2024, by Milkweed Editions. It won a 2025 Pacific Northwest Book Award.[3] La Tray was named Montana’s poet laureate for 2023-2024.[4]
Chris La Tray | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 58–59) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Website | |
| chrislatray | |
La Tray grew up in Frenchtown, Montana. His grandparents identified as Chippewa but his father denied the family's Native American ancestry.[5] He was raised with a knowledge of his Chippewa background,[2] but first became aware that his heritage was also Métis and Little Shell in his early 40s, a common experience for people of Little Shell heritage.[5] His Métis great-great-grandfather worked an interpreter for the US Army, as he knew multiple languages, including French, English, Cree, Chippewa (Ojibwe), Dakota, and Crow (Apsalooke).[2]
La Tray keeps a bi-weekly Substack newsletter called, "An Irritable Métis".[6]
Prior to publishing full-length books, La Tray published numerous freelance nonfiction and short fiction pieces as well as photography,[7] and was a regular contributing writer for the Missoula Independent.[8]