"For almost 22 years, Ojibwe writer Jim Northrup has entertained and chastened readers of his syndicated Fond Du Lacs Follies newspaper column. Now, a new collection of the Follies is about to hit the bookstores.

Northrup covered everything from the rise of casinos and treaty rights, to his love of tapping trees for syrup, and harvesting wild rice. And he always included a lot of jokes.

"Asked at a restaurant: do you have a reservation?" he intoned recently.

"Yes! Fond du Lac!" he answered to his own question.

The Minnesota Historical Society Press is publishing a collection of Northup's columns.

Northrup sits at his kitchen table, whittling with a large clasp-knife.

"I'm carving sugar bush taps," he said.

He uses maple branches about 1.5 inches in diameter, cut to about 4 inches long. He'll pound each one into a hole drilled in a maple tree."

Get the Story:
Ojibwe columnist Jim Northrup looks back on career 'Follies' (Minnesota Public Radio 3/15)

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