compiled by Toni Nelson

Karen Louise Erdrich was born in Little Falls, Minnesota on June 7, 1954. Her mother is French Ojibwe and her father is German American. As Erdrich was growing up, her parents worked in Wahpeton, North Dakota at the Bureau of Indian Affairs School. Her grandfather was the Tribal Chairman of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. Erdrich herself is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She attended college at Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins before marrying author and anthropologist Michael Dorris. Erdrich and Dorris became well known for their literature, sometimes being called the "poster couple of multicultural literature" (Jones 82). When Erdrich married Dorris, he had three adopted children and later the couple had three more children of their own. When Dorris and Erdrich separated in 1995, Erdrich moved six blocks down the street in order to share custody of their children. On March 29, 1997 Dorris committed suicide. Erdrich now lives in Minneapolis, MN with her three youngest children.

  Works Cited

"Louise Erdrich." The Native American Rights Fund. <http://www.narf.org/profiles/nsc/erdrich.htm> (9 July 1997).

Sprenger, Polly. "More Love Medicine." The Minnesota Daily Online. <http://www.daily. umn.edu/ae/Print/ISSUE25/cover.html> (9 July 1997).

Jones Jr., Malcolm. "The Death of a Native Son." Newsweek. 28 April 1997: 68-69.

photo courtesy of The Minnesota Daily On-line

Other information about Louise Erdrich:

Michael Dorris: a brief biography about the life of Louise Erdrich's husband

In her own words: quotable quotes straight from Erdrich's mouth

Awards that Erdrich has won

Works: a complete listing (as far as I know) of Erdrich's works

Similar links: including a Kashpaw and Nanapush family tree

"L'Magique Fleur:" Reader Response criticism written by Toni Nelson

If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail me at Toni.C.Nelson@sendit.nodak.edu  

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