James Welch, an American of Blackfeet and Gros Ventre heritage, was a novelist, poet, and teacher. He was born on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana and died in 2003. His papers are held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, at Yale University. "Living Distance: The Life and Papers of James Welch," an audio essay prepared by Eric Ward and read by Presca Ahn, explores the writer’s life, his legacy, and his archive.