Heather Cahoon, Ph.D., MFA
Heather Cahoon is an award-winning poet, scholar of federal Indian policy, and an Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of Montana. She is the author of two poetry collections including Horsefly Dress, which was published as part of the University of Arizona Press’s distinguished Sun Tracks American Indian literary series. Her poems have appeared in prominent national and international publications including the seminal anthology of Native American poetry, When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through. Her writing also appears in Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples Poetry, published as part of past-U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s signature project, "Living Nations, Living Words: A Map of First Peoples Poetry" for the Library of Congress’s permanent collection.
Heather is also the founder and former Director of the American Indian Governance and Policy Institute, which brings the Montana University System’s research and service resources to work with tribes in Montana to address the core causes of socioeconomic challenges and health related issues on reservations by providing the necessary support for evidence-informed tribal policy making. Recognizing that many tribal government officials lack access to the type of policy research and analysis services supplied to state and federal policy makers, the Policy Institute fills this void by providing tribal leaders with credible, in-depth research and analysis of community-identified issues and tribal-level policy proposals. This collaborative, data-backed approach aims to enhance tribal governing structures by increasing effective functioning, regulatory authority and self-governing abilities, and ultimately to further tribal leaders’ efforts to strengthen their economies while building individual and community health and prosperity. To aid in this work and to help guide the Policy Institute's research, Heather developed an Indian country-specific social determinants of health framework that is also now utilized by the State of Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services.
In 2015, Heather was named the University of Montana's first Elouise Cobell Land and Culture Institute Scholar, a title reserved for faculty who are continuing Elouise Cobell’s legacy of working for justice and equity for American Indians and tribal communities. Heather has also held Gubernatorial appointments to the Montana Ambassadors and the Montana Board of Crime Control's Youth Justice Council. She grew up on the Flathead Reservation in western Montana and is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes with Upper Kalispel, Nez Perce, Spokane, Kootenai, Chippewa and western European lineages.
In September 2024, Heather was appointed by President Biden, after confirmation by the U.S. Senate, to the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.