An enrolled citizen/member of the White Earth Anishinaabe Nation, Gordon Henry has dedicated his writing, scholarship and life to Indigenous tribal communities. In recognition of this work, he has been appointed the inaugural Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies at Michigan State University.

“Most everything associated with the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies position speaks to the work I’ve done in the past and the work I hope to do in the future,” Henry said. “I also wanted to take this position as a way of foregrounding its future. I hope to set a precedent by having the position filled by a tribally connected writer, scholar and community-centered tribal citizen.”

Henry is a professor of 20th century and contemporary literature, creative writing, and Native American literature in Michigan State University’s Department of English. The main purpose of his new position as the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies is to promote the transformative potential of literature.

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