Panelists
Shaina Nez
Shaina A. Nez is ‘Áshįįhi born for Táchii’nii. Her maternal grandfather’s clan is Ta’neeszahnii, and Kin łichii’nii is her paternal grandfather’s clan. She is from Lukachukai, Arizona, and currently lives in Mentmore, New Mexico. Nez received her MFA in creative writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in Justice Studies from ASU. Her creative work has appeared in The Massachusetts Review, Yellow Medicine Review, Chapter House Magazine, Nonwhite and Woman: 131 Micro Essays on Being in the World, Between Pleasure and Pain: An Authentic Voices Anthology, and The Languages of Our Love: An Indigenous Love and Sex Anthology.
Cheyenne Williams
Cheyenne Dakota Williams is a Diné poet from Virginia. She is Bit’ahnii (Folded Arms Clan), born for Naahiłii (African American). Her work has been featured in Yellow Medicine Review, Saw Palm: Florida Literature & Art, Poetry Magazine, and Chapter House Journal. She is a Tin House scholar and an AWP Tribal Colleges & Universities Fellow. Her poems, “Heritage Diner” and “how to be a drunk ndn” were recently awarded the Frederick Bock Prize by Poetry Magazine. She is currently an undergraduate at Fort Lewis College majoring in writing.
Stacie Shannon Denetsosie
Stacie Shannon Denetsosie is a citizen of the Navajo Nation. Her clans are Todích’íí’nii (Bitterwater Clan), born for Naakaii (Mexican Clan). She is a fiction writer and poet. She was named a 2025 National Book Foundation 5 Under 25 Honoree. Her debut short story collection, The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories, was named a 2024 Southwest Book of the Year, a Foreword INDIES Book Award winner, and a 2024 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize finalist. Stacie received her MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Originally from Kayenta, Arizona, she currently resides in Northern Utah with her husband and cat.