Layli Long Soldier

Layli Long Soldier
Occupation	Artist Writer
Nationality	Oglala Lakota
Alma mater	Institute of American Indian Arts Bard College
Years active	2010–present
Notable awards	Whiting Award Lannan Literary Award

Layli Long Soldier is an Oglala Lakota poet, writer, feminist, artist, and activist.

Early life and education

Long Soldier grew up in the Four Corners region of the Southwest, where she continues to live and work to advocate against the continued, systematic oppression of Indigenous populations. ^[1] She graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts and went on to earn a Master's at Bard College. ^[2]

Career

In 2010, Layli Long Soldier published the chapbook Chromosomory. ^[3] In 2013, she participated in the art exhibit Pte Oyate at the Red Cloud Indian School, alongside Roger Broer, Michael Two Bulls, and Keith Brave Heart. ^[4]

In 2015, Long Soldier joined the faculty in the English department of Diné College. ^[5] Long Soldier is an editor of the journal Drunken Boat and the poetry editor for Kore Press. ^[3]

Her first volume of poetry, Whereas , was published in 2017 by Graywolf Press. ^{[6] [7]} The collection explores the systemic violence against and cultural erasure of Native tribes in the United States through a thoughtful investigation of language. ^[8] Whereas responds to the cautiously phrased and quietly passed 2009 U.S. Congressional Apology to Native Peoples for the history of genocidal policies and actions enacted by the United States Federal government against Indigenous peoples. In writing these poems, Long Soldier studied similar apologies from governments worldwide to Indigenous peoples and considered the nature of an authentic apology. ^[9]

The volume's longest poem, the five-page "38," recounts how 38 Dakota warriors were hanged, with the approval of President Lincoln, after the 1862 Sioux Uprising on December 26, 1862. Long Soldier writes, "This was the same week that President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation." ^[10] Long Soldier read this poem in the documentary Lakota Nation vs. United States, forming one of the narrative backbones of the film. ^[11]

Whereas also invokes personal experiences, including Long Soldier's reflections on her relationship with her daughter and motherhood. ^[9]

Awards and honors

• 2015 Lannan Literary Fellowship ^[12]
• 2016 National Artist Fellowship from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation ^[3]
• 2016 Whiting Award ^[13]
• 2017 National Book Award for Poetry, finalist for Whereas ^[14]
• 2017 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, winner for Whereas ^[15]
• 2018 Griffin Poetry Prize, shortlisted for Whereas
• 2018 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, winner for Whereas ^{[16] [17]}
• 2021 Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize for Whereas ^[18]

Works

• —— (2010). Chromosomory. Lubbock, TX: Q Ave Press.
• —— (2017). Whereas. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press. ISBN   9781555977672.

References

1. "Layli Long Soldier: Respecting the Sentence". Tufts Poetry Awards. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
2. Levin, Jennifer (August 19, 2016). "A tradition of storytelling: The new landscape of Native literature". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
3. "Layli Long Soldier". The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
4. Darr, Deanna (December 12, 2013). "Exploring the buffalo bond: 'Pte Oyate' exhibit links art, culture" . Retrieved December 9, 2016.
5. "Diné College course catalog 2015-2016" (PDF). dinecollege.edu. October 20, 2020. Archived from General Catalog AY1516.pdf the original (PDF) on August 19, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
6. "Layli Long Soldier Wins 2016 Whiting Award". Graywolf Press. March 24, 2016. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
7. Diaz, Natalie (August 4, 2017). "A Native American Poet Excavates the Language of Occupation". Review of Layli Long Soldier, Whereas. New York Times . Retrieved August 13, 2017. Print version, August 6, 2017, under title "An Occupied Language", Sunday Book Review, p. 20.
8. "Everything Is In the Language We Use: A Review of Whereas by Layli Long Soldier". The Kenyon Review. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
9. "Layli Long Soldier — The Freedom of Real Apologies". The On Being Project. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
10. Lichtenstein, Jesse (August 12, 2018). "How Poetry Came to Matter Again". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
11. White, Abbey (December 13, 2023). "'Lakota Nation vs. United States' Directors on Capturing the Evolving Battle for Indigenous Land Rights: We're "Still Hemorrhaging People"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
12. Lerner, Lawrence (November 20, 2015). "Professor A. Van Jordan Wins the 2015 Lannan Literary Award for Poetry". Rutgers University. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
13. "Whiting Foundation Announces Winners of 2016 Awards for Writing". New York Times. March 23, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
14. "2017 National Book Award finalists revealed". CBS News. October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
15. Katie Tuttle (March 15, 2018). "National Book Critics Circle Announces Winners for 2017 Awards". National Book Critics Circle. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
16. John Maher (February 21, 2018). "Long Soldier, Zhang, Le Guin Win At 2018 PEN Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
17. "The 2018 PEN America Literary Awards Winners". PEN America. February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
18. Dami (August 7, 2020). "Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize Competition". The English Association. Retrieved February 21, 2025.