Aanii/Hi!
I am a musician and poet from the swampy Delirium Wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I perform acoustic songs and share poems at readings.
Tyler Dettloff (Anishinaabe Métis/Italian) is the Director of the Center for Native American Studies at Northern Michigan University and a poet and songwriter from the swampy Delirium Wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A lineal descendant of Anishinaabe Métis from the Detroit River region and a second-generation Italian American, Tyler reconnects with his Indigeneity in Anishinaabe-akiing through songwriting, poetry, and teaching.
He earned a Bachelors in English Writing from NMU in 2011 and a Masters of Arts in Literature & Pedagogy from NMU in 2015. Tyler has taught English Composition and Native American Literature courses as an Assistant Professor at Lake Superior State University (2018-2024), public speaking course at Bay Mills Community College (2019) and creative writing course at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (2018) as an adjunct instructor, and taught a split 5th/6th grade class at Ojibwe Charter School (2018) in Bay Mills, Michigan (Gnoozhekaaning).
Tyler is the current Poet Laureate of Michigan’s Chippewa County (2024-2026) and co-director for the independent record label Lost Dog Records or Marquette, Michigan. His chapbook of poetry Belly-up Rosehip: a Tongue Blue with Mud Songs (Swimming with Elephants Publications) debuted in 2019. Tyler’s poems are featured in Frontier Poetry, Brazenhead Review, Third Coast, River Heron Review, Crabfat Magazine, Cutthroat Journal of the Arts, Heartwood Literature Magazine, Santa Ana River Review, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment (ISLE), Jelly Bucket, and The Rumpus; his poem “Rapids” was a finalist in 2019 Cream City Review Summer Poetry Prize; his poem “Thousands of Frogs Croaking Purple” was nominated by Jelly Bucket for the 2020 Pushcart Prize.
Tyler has released five studio albums through Lost Dog Records and Dead River Sound: Reconcile (LP, 2024), no hitter (EP, 2024), Dynamite Honey: Northern Folk & Blues (LP, 2020), The Way the Hook Bends (LP, 2015), and Dog Folk (EP, 2015). He produced music videos for his songs “Thunder Burnt” (2019) and “Alibi” (2024) with Baawaating (Sault Ste. Marie, MI) community members and Lake Superior State University Arts Center faculty.
Tyler Dettloff 