Lisa Tatonetti

Lisa Tatonetti is a Professor of English and Graduate Faculty member at Kansas State University, specializing in queer Indigenous studies and Native American literature. A settler scholar and Coffman University Distinguished Teaching Scholar, she co-founded the K-State Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance and revived the Kansas Association of Native American Education. She serves on state-level Indigenous education committees and co-created the annual Indigenous Peoples Day symposium, which attracts over 500 participants.

• Ph.D., Ohio State University (2001)
• B.A., Florida State University

Her research focuses on Queer Indigenous literatures, exploring intersections of gender expansiveness, cultural sovereignty, and Indigenous epistemologies. She has co-edited Sovereign Erotics, authored The Queerness of Native American Literature, and published Written by the Body, which earned a Rockefeller Fellowship and the Beatrice Medicine Award.

Key publications analyze Two-Spirit narratives, decolonizing queer theory, and Indigenous gender frameworks, reflecting her work in advancing Indigenous literary criticism through interdisciplinary lenses.

Scientific Awards

• Wordcraft Circle Pathfinder Award
• Foreword Review Book of the Year Award
• Thomas J. Lyons Book Award
• ALD’s Recommended Reading List
• Beatrice Medicine Award for Best Published Monograph
• Ron Gaches Lifetime Teaching Award

Tatonetti teaches Indigenous literatures and film, multiethnic literatures, and queer studies as part of K-State’s Cultural Studies track. She collaborates with Indigenous communities to create educational initiatives, including the Indigenous Peoples Day symposium.