An Ojibwe writer, editor and activist enrolled at Turtle Mountain in North Dakota, Heid E. Erdrich is the author of seven poetry collections, including Little Big Bully, which won the National Poetry Series award and the Bobbitt Prize from The Library of Congress. Her latest 2024 collection, Verb Animate: Poetry and Prose from Collaborative Acts, features art by Jonathan Thunder. She edited the American Book Award-winning New Poets of Native Nations and, along with Winona LaDuke, Sister Nations: Native American Women and Community. A culinary enthusiast, Heid E. Erdrich is also the author of Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories, and Recipes from the Upper Midwest.

Professor Erdrich has received two Minnesota Book Awards and has served as the Minneapolis Poet Laureate. 

With her sister, the author Louise Erdrich, she founded and directed the Turtle Mountain Writing Workshop. In 2008 the sisters co-founded The Birchbark House to support indigenous language revitalization efforts. Since 2010, Heid E. Erdrich has directed Wiigwaas Press, publishing Ojibwe/Anishinaabe language books and films. She is currently a visiting professor at the University of Montana.

Jensen Lecture Series

This Jensen Lecture Series event was made possible through generous support from Western Oregon University’s Office of the Provost and the Dr. Arne S. Jensen Endowment. Learn more about the Jensen Lecture Series.