Jesse Bruchac facts for kids

Jesse Bowman Bruchac was born in 1972. He is an author and a language teacher. Jesse is a member of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation. This is a recognized tribe in Vermont.

He has spent much of his life studying the Abenaki language. He also works to preserve the Abenaki culture. Jesse created the very first website for learning the Abenaki language.

Jesse travels across the United States. He teaches both the Abenaki language and its culture. When he is not traveling, he works as a treasurer. This is for The Ndakinna Education Center. He also teaches classes on how to survive in the wilderness. Jesse is also a skilled martial artist. He knows Brazilian jiu-jitsu, isshin-ryū, pentjak silat, and taekwondo.

Jesse has done a lot of work with the Abenaki language. He has also taught other Eastern Algonquian languages. These include Munsee and Unami (which are Lenni Lenape languages). He also taught Mohegan-Pequot and Passamaquoddy. He manages WesternAbenaki.com. This is a free website for learning languages online. A well-known Abenaki scholar, Frederick Matthew Wiseman, has called him very important. He said Jesse is a key part of the "Abenaki Renaissance."

Jesse has worked on several films. He was in a short film by Alanis Obomsawin called When All the Leaves Are Gone (2010). He was also a translator for the TV show Turn: Washington's Spies. For the National Geographic movie Saints & Strangers (2015), Jesse was a translator and a dialect/dialogue coach. He also helped with the music. This film had over an hour of dialogue translated into the Western Abenaki language. Jesse spent two months in South Africa training over twenty actors for the film.

Jesse's Early Life and Learning

Jesse Bruchac was born to Joseph Bruchac and Carol Bruchac. He is part of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation. This is a state-recognized tribe in Vermont. He used to be a member of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi. This is another recognized tribe in Vermont.

He went to Saratoga Springs High School. Later, he studied at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. There, he focused on creating a plan for teaching the Abenaki language. Since then, Jesse has dedicated his life to saving and bringing back the Abenaki language and culture.

In his book The Language of Basketmaking, Jesse works to bring attention to important writers. These include Henry Lorne Masta and Joseph Laurent. He started teaching Abenaki conversations in high school. Then he taught at the Abenaki Tribal Museum and Cultural Center. In 2020, he became the director of the new School of Abenaki. This school is at Middlebury College.

Jesse lives in his hometown of Greenfield Center, New York. He lives there with his two children, Carolyn Bruchac and Jacob Bruchac.

Jesse's Martial Arts Journey

Jesse Bruchac started wrestling when he was just 6 years old. In 1990, he became the captain of his high school team. He also won the New York State Class A championship. His team won the Suburban Council Championship. He received the Steve Rue Memorial Award.

As an adult, he has competed in six different North American Grappling Association championships. He won four gold medals and two silver medals from these events. He has also competed in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation tournaments. From these, he has won five gold medals.

Jesse helped start Western New York Mixed Martial Arts (WNYMMA). This gym has grown and helped train many top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts fighters. In 2011, he joined his brother Jim Bruchac. They became martial arts instructors at the Saratoga Kyokushin.

Public Appearances and Music

Jesse Bruchac appeared on a TV show called Story By Story. This show was broadcast from Proctor's Theater. In 1993, he helped create a music group called The Dawnland Singers. He formed it with his father Joseph, his brother James, and his aunt Marge Bruchac. John Kirk and Ed Lowman play instruments with the group.

The group has performed all over the United States, Canada, and Europe. They even opened for the famous band The Grateful Dead at Woodstock 2 in Highgate, Vermont.

In 2011, Jesse gave presentations at the Adirondack Center for Writing's Native American Writers Series. This series celebrates many different writers. It includes writers from the Abenaki and Mohawk nations.

Books by Jesse Bruchac

• Bruchac, Jesse, Joseph Alfred Elie Joubert, and Jeanne A. Brink. L8dwaw8gan Wji Abaznodakaw8gan: The Language of Basket Making. Greenfield Center, NY: Bowman, 2010. ISBN: 978-0557632107
• Bruchac, Jesse. Mosbas and the Magic Flute. Greenfield Center, NY: Bowman, 2010. ISBN: 978-0878861484
• Bruchac, Jesse. The Woman and the Kiwakw. N.p.: Lulu.com, 2013. ISBN: 978-1300657576
• Bruchac, Joseph, and Jesse Bruchac. Nisnol Siboal = Two Rivers: Poems in English and Abenaki. Greenfield Center, NY: Bowman, 2011. ISBN: 978-1257430680
• Wzôkhilain, Pial, and Jesse Bruchac. The Gospel of Mark Translated into the Abenaki Indian, English and French Languages. N.p.: Lulu.com, 2011. ISBN: 978-1105197055

See also

In Spanish: Jesse Bruchac para niños