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.
July 19, 2016 - MPR’s Euen Kerr talks with Ojibwe author, poet, playwright Jim Northrup. Northrup is dying, but he's OK with it. The author of the popular Fond du Lac Follies, several books, plays and TV shows, says he's helped by his traditional life style on the Fond du Lac Reservation - and his sense of humor.
August 2, 2016 - MPR’s Tom Crann reports on the death of Ojibwe author, poet, playwright Jim Northrup. Report includes audio clip of Northrup reading from his poem “Grandma’s Hair.”
August 4, 2016 - Ojibwe author, poet, playwright Jim Northrup died at 73, due to complications from cancer. As part of a wake, a traditional fire is being started at his residence in Sawyer. Matthew Northrup, joins MPR’s Tom Crann to talk about his father, and what it was like being raised by Jim, who was known and quoted as being a tough man.