Birchbark House Non-Profit

Birchbark House non-profit, founded in 2008, operates under the direction of Louise Erdrich and Heid E. Erdrich and is associated with Birchbark Books, a Native American focused, independent bookstore in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Our Work serves communities engaged in the revitalization of Native American languages for the spiritual, physical and material health of the people. Birchbark House acts as a media clearinghouse, a multi-lingual press, and a distribution service for Native American literature, language-centered writing, and media primarily by Native American authors and editors. Our specialty is Ojibwe and Dakota language and culture. We support language-learning events and other educational activities with a focus on Native American languages. Through Wiigwassi Press, we produce, promote and distribute books and other media in Ojibwe language.

Our Hope is to make Native American language materials readily available, a pleasure to read, and an inspiration to both the old and young to commit to learning and sharing Native American languages.

Mission

The Birchbark House honors the spirit of the living languages and fosters indigenous writers, artists and scholars through its publications and programs.

The Birchbark House exists to serve the urban and reservation communities of the Great Lakes-Great Plains region through publication, distribution and promotion of Native American language centered writing and media projects, through workshops and events.

Vision

We foresee a vital return to our Native American languages through the efforts of elders that are already underway. In creating ways to keep their words alive, through books, films, teaching and more, we will keep our languages viable and more, we will allow the means for creative fluency, the hallmark of a fully living language. In professionally publishing work edited and produced by second-language speakers, we encourage Native American language study as a valued and rewarded skill.

The Birchbark House strives to create change in community by supporting and promotion indigenous language revitalization through efforts to:

• Provide Ojibwe and other language publications, professionally, respectfully and beautifully produced
• Distribute Ojibwe and other language publications in a consistent, committed and friendly manner through Birchbark Books store in Minneapolis, on the web and in reservation and urban Native American communities
• Conserve the teachings of our elders in their own words
• Inspire our youth to write in and publish in Native American languages
• Support creative fluency in Native American languages by publication of original memoir, traditional stories, teachings, and other expressions of culture.
• Invigorate language revitalization efforts by producing school curriculum with exciting and age-appropriate Native American language materials

Guiding Values

• Respect
• Commitment
• Inspiration
• Creativity
• Re-Vitalization

Our Goals

• We seek to overcome obstacles to language learning by making quality Native American language materials readily and consistently available to communities, schools, individuals and the public.
• We plan to produce new work and republish titles annually
• We hope to promote language learning through support of immersion programs and writing workshops that encourage use of Native American languages.

The Birchbark House Programs

• Birchbark Books distribution
• Wiigwassi Press, a bi-lingual and Ojibwe language press
• Mikinaak Wajiwing: Turtle Mountain Writing Workshop