death_date death_place pseudonym birth_place subject nationality notableworks name birth_date spouse genre article_title birth_name occupation
10 april 1997 concord , new hampshire , usa milou north louisville , kentucky , usa native american studies american '' the broken cord '' a yellow raft in blue water '' '' michael dorris 30 january 1945 louise erdrich -lrb- m. 1981 -rrb- children 's fiction , memoir michael dorris
 michael anthony dorris academic , fiction writer
michael dorris

michael anthony dorris -lrb- january 30 , 1945 -- april 10 , 1997 -rrb- was an american novelist and scholar who was the first chair of the native american studies program at dartmouth .
his works include the memoir , `` the broken cord '' -lrb- 1989 -rrb- and the novel , `` a yellow raft in blue water '' -lrb- 1987 -rrb- .
he was married to author louise erdrich and the two frequently collaborated in their writing .
he committed suicide in 1997 while police were investigating allegations that he had abused his daughters .
`` the broken cord '' , which won the 1989 national book critics circle award for general nonfiction , helped provoke congress to approve legislation to warn of the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy .
