BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN NAME:Spokane Public Library X-WR-CALNAME:Spokane Public Library BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6be4b21d-4e89-4cc7-95cd-43d06bc12b3e SEQUENCE:0 DTSTAMP:20260718T080015Z DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240903T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240903T183000 SUMMARY:Becoming Little Shell Reading & Signing with Chris La Tray LOCATION:Liberty Park\nLiberty Park X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Liberty Park;X-APPLE-RADIU S=10;X-TITLE=Liberty Park:geo:47.652399,-117.384761 GEO:47.652399;-117.384761 DESCRIPTION:A book reading and signing with Métis storyteller and forme r Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray. Auntie's Bookstore will sell copies of La Tray's new memoir..\nhttps://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/11321 556 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

&ldquo\;I&rsquo\;m in awe of Chris La Tray &rsquo\;s storytelling. \;Becoming Little Shell \;creates a multilaye red narrative from threads of personal\, family\, community\, tribal\, and national histories.&rdquo\;&mdash\;Robin Wall Kimmerer\, author of \; Braiding Sweetgrass.

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Growing up in Montana\, Chris La Tra y always identified as Indian. Despite the fact that his father fiercely d enied any connection\, he found Indigenous people alluring\, often recalli ng his grandmother&rsquo\;s consistent mention of their Chippewa heritage.

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When La Tray attended his grandfather&rsquo\;s funeral as a young man\, he finally found himself surrounded by relatives who obviously were Indigenous. &ldquo\;Who were they?&rdquo\; he wondered\, and &ldquo\;Why was I never allowed to know them?&rdquo\; Combining diligent research and compelling conversations with authors\, activists\, elders\, and historian s\, La Tray embarks on a journey into his family&rsquo\;s past\, discoveri ng along the way a larger story of the complicated history of Indigenous c ommunities&mdash\;as well as the devastating effects of colonialism that c ontinue to ripple through surviving generations. And as he comes to embrac e his full identity\, he eventually seeks enrollment with the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians\, joining their 158-year-long struggle for fede ral recognition. \;

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Both personal and historical\, \;B ecoming Little Shell \;is a testament to the power of storytellin g\, to family and legacy\, and to finding home. Infused with candor\, hear t\, wisdom\, and an abiding love for a place and a people\, Chris La Tray& rsquo\;s remarkable journey is both revelatory and redemptive.

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Chris La Tray is a Mé\;tis storyteller\, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North\, and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians\, he is also the aut hor of \;One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the Wor ld at Large\, which won the 2018 Montana Book Award and a 2019 High P lains Book Award\, as well as \;Descended from a Travel-Worn Satch el\, a collection of haiku and haibun poetry. La Tray is the Montana Poet Laureate for 2023&ndash\;2025 and a former bookseller at Fact \;& amp\; \;Fiction. He writes the weekly newsletter &ldquo\;An Irritable Mé\;tis&rdquo\; and lives near Frenchtown\, \;Montana.

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B y attending library programs\, you are agreeing to potentially appear in p hotos/videos taken at our locations that may be used in promotional materi als including social media.

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We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations (i.e. hearing assistan ce\, ASL requests\, or other ADA inquiries)\, email sday@spokanelibrary.or g.

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For all event information inquiries\, email telref@spokanelibra ry.org or call 509-444-5300.

\nhttps://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event /11321556 URL;VALUE=URI:https://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/11321556 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR