Haskell Indian Nations University students have won awards in the Tribal College Journal Creative Writing Contest and will read works at the school’s first Art Gala on Friday.

The event, sponsored by the Haskell Artist Alliance, will begin at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m., at Stidham Union. An open reading will follow presentations by the winners.

In the contest’s poetry division, seven of the 10 winners are Haskell students. They are Jacquetta Shade, Michael Bonga, Lumhe Micco Sampson, Daniel Remmenga, Kyerin Bennett, Kyle Tsosie and Jimmy Beason.

No other tribal college had so many winners in any category.

Winners were recognized at the American Indian Higher Education Conference in Rapid City on March 27. In the fall, Tribal College Journal will publish top winners in the journal and all winners on their Web site.

Haskell’s gala, a free event, will give artists a chance to display their work, and there will be an open stage for musicians as well. For more information, contact Cheyanne LeRoux at (816) 260-0476 or haskellartistsassociation@haskell.edu.