BECOMING LITTLE SHELL Paperback Release with Chris La Tray

Country Bookshelf is excited to welcome Chris La Tray to celebrate the paperback release of Becoming Little Shell on August 12 at 6pm.

Tickets are not required for this event, but RSVPs are appreciated. Please get a FREE general admission ticket by selecting "Get tickets" on this page.

Books can be purchased at the event. Books can be ordered in advance through Eventbrite, ordering on our website, or by calling Country Bookshelf at 406-587-0166 during our regular business hours.

The event at a glance:

• On August 12, please arrive early to secure your seat. Seating is general admission first come, first serve.
• At 6:00pm, the event program featuring Chirs La Tray will begin. There will be time for questions following the program.
• After the talk, Chris La Tray will be available for book signing.
• Can't attend in person? Order a signed copy of Becoming Little Shell on our website or by calling 406-587-0166. Signing requests will need to be placed 24 hours before the event.

About Becoming Little Shell:

Growing up in Montana, Chris La Tray always identified as Indian. Despite the fact that his father fiercely denied any connection, he found Indigenous people alluring, often recalling his grandmother's consistent mention of their Chippewa heritage.

When La Tray attended his grandfather's funeral as a young man, he finally found himself surrounded by relatives who obviously were Indigenous. "Who were they?" he wondered, and "Why was I never allowed to know them?" Combining diligent research and compelling conversations with authors, activists, elders, and historians, La Tray embarks on a journey into his family's past, discovering along the way a larger story of the complicated history of Indigenous communities--as well as the devastating effects of colonialism that continue to ripple through surviving generations. And as he comes to embrace his full identity, he eventually seeks enrollment with the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, joining their 158-year-long struggle for federal recognition.

Both personal and historical, Becoming Little Shell is a testament to the power of storytelling, to family and legacy, and to finding home. Infused with candor, heart, wisdom, and an abiding love for a place and a people, Chris La Tray's remarkable journey is both revelatory and redemptive.

Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and a citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. His third book, Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home, was published by Milkweed Editions on August 20, 2024 and was a winner of a 2024 Pacific Northwest Book Award and shortlisted for a 2025 Writing the West award. His first 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. His book of haiku and haibun poetry, Descended from a Travel-worn Satchel, was published in 2021 by Foothills Publishing. Chris served as the 2025 Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer at the University of Montana and was awarded the 2025 Montana Heritage Keeper Award by the Montana Historical Society. Chris writes the weekly newsletter "An Irritable Métis" and lives near Frenchtown, Montana. He is the Montana Poet Laureate for 2023–2025

Accessibility Information:

• The event will take place on the first floor of Country Bookshelf.
• All doorways have a width greater than 32 inches with the narrowest being our front door at 35 inches.
• The speakers will be using a microphone at this event.
• Please email staff@countrybookshelf.com if you have any specific accessibility needs and we will do our best to serve you!
• Do you or someone you know provide ASL interpretation? Country Bookshelf is seeking an interpreter to call on for future events. Please send information to staff@countrybookshelf.com if there is interest!