Jim Northrup was an Anishinaabe newspaper columnist, poet, performer, and political commentator. His Anishinaabe name was "Chibenashi" ("Big little-bird"). Northrup lived a traditional life of the Anishinaabe in the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation of northern Minnesota. He was featured on MPR numerous times discussing his writing, his experience as a Vietnam veteran, and his activism on Native American hunting and fishing rights. Northrup passed away on August 1st, 2016.
Northrup's regular column, the Fond du Lac Follies, was syndicated through several Native American papers. Northrup was nominated and/or won numerous awards for his writing, including “Walking the Rez Road,” which won a Minnesota Book Award and a Northeast Minnesota Book Award. The book comprises forty stories and poems that feature character Luke Warmwater, an Ojibwa Vietnam veteran who survived the war but has trouble surviving the peace.
April 26, 1993 - MPR’s Leif Enger reports from Mille Lacs Lake on Anishinaabe Liberation Front preparing to spear in violation of state law. Report includes numerous interviews, including Ojibwe writer Jim Northrup, who participates in traditional spearing.
July 9, 1993 - MPR’s Liz Hannon interviews author Jim Northrup about his book, "Walking the Rez Road." Northup also speaks about oral tradition and the Vietnam War.
June 26, 1995 - On this Voices of Minnesota segment, MPR’s Dan Olson interviews Ojibwe writer Jim Northrup about his book “Walking The Rez Road.” Northrup disusses the Vietnam War, writing, and casino gaming impact on reservations.
June 26, 1995 - On this Voices of Minnesota segment, MPR’s Dan Olson interviews Ojibwe writer Jim Northrup about his book “Walking The Rez Road.” Northrup discusses boarding school, teaching writing, his family tree, and traditional ways.
November 20, 1995 - MPR’s Marianne Combs interviews Native American author Jim Northrup about writing, his film projects, and family.
May 20, 1997 - Public and private landholders are challenging Chippewa Indian's plans to take fish and other game in eastern Minnesota, under terms of an 1837 treaty. But miles north of the region under contention, Chippewa Indians have been harvesting fish and wild rice and hunting moose and deer on public lands with little fanfare, and no public protests.
November 10, 1999 - MPR’s Katherine Lanpher talks with Minnesota writer Bill Holm and editor Michael Dregni of the book, "Minnesota Days: Our Heritage in Stories, Art and Photos." This Midmorning program includes call-in from listeners.
July 9, 2001 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki presents report on attempts to save the Ojibwe language. Report includes various interviews, including Jim Northrup. At one time more than 300 American Indian languages were spoken in the U.S. But with each passing generation, many of the indigenous languages have died; others are on the verge of disappearing. With that in mind, tribes from northern Wisconsin and Minnesota are trying to keep their Ojibwe language from going silent and along the way gain new insight into how their ancestors viewed the world.
March 14, 2011 - MPR’s Euan Kerr talks with Ojibwe writer Jim Northrup. For almost 22 years, Northrup has entertained and chastened readers of his syndicated “Fond Du Lacs Follies” newspaper column. He's covered everything from the rise of casinos and treaty rights, to his love of tapping trees for syrup, and harvesting wild rice…and he always included lots of jokes.
January 6, 2014 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on wild rice, the iconic grain that grows across much of the northern half of the state, being at the center of a contentious debate over mining and the environment. Kraker conducts interviews with individuals from both sides of the debate.