Heid E. Erdrich

Heid Ellen Erdrich (born November 26, 1963) is an Ojibwe writer of poetry, short stories, and nonfiction. She also edits journals to promote literature from other Native American writers.

Erdrich comes from a family of writers. Among seven siblings, Louise Erdrich ranks among the most renowned contemporary Native American writers; another sister, Lise Erdrich, is also published. Their maternal grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, was the tribal chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe from 1953-1959, and was instrumental in fighting against Indian termination. Their father Ralph (German-American) and mother Rita (Ojibwe) taught at a boarding school for the Turtle Mountain Band.

Erdrich graduated from Dartmouth College in 1986 with a B.A. in Literature and Creative Writing. She earned two master's degrees from Johns Hopkins University, one in poetry (1989) and another in fiction (1990). Much of her career has been devoted to the teaching of writing; in 2003, she was named Mentor of the Year in for her work with the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. Erdrich has taught at Johns Hopkins, Augsburg College and the University of St. Thomas. She has also taught workshops for Native writers at Turtle Mountain Community College, along with her sister Louise and fellow Ojibwe author Al Hunter.

Erdrich has published four volumes of poetry: Fishing for Myth (1997); The Mother's Tongue (2005); National Monuments (2008), which won the Minnesota Book Award; and Cell Traffic (2012). She has also written short stories and nonfiction. More recently, Erdrich has garnered attention for her video-poems—short, collaborative pieces treating contemporary indigenous themes including the Idle No More movement. Erdrich's work has been favorably received by other prominent Native American writers, including poets Cheryl Savageau and Denise Low.

In addition to her own writing, Erdrich also promotes the work of other Native American authors. She is a guest editor at the Yellow Medicine Review, a journal devoted to indigenous literature and art; and she co-edited a volume of writing by Native American women with Navajo poet Laura Tohe. With her sister Louise, she founded Birchbark House at the Minneapolis Foundation, with the intent of supporting Native writing and Native language revitalization. Erdrich also directs Wiigwaas Press, which publishes books in Ojibwe.

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