Jesse Bruchac facts for kids

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

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

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

He has worked a lot with the Abenaki language. He has also taught other Eastern Algonquian languages. These include Munsee and Unami (which are Lenni Lenape languages), Mohegan-Pequot, and Passamaquoddy. He manages WesternAbenaki.com. This is a free website where people can learn languages online. A famous Abenaki scholar, Frederick Matthew Wiseman, has called Jesse an "important contributor to the Abenaki Renaissance." This means Jesse is a big part of bringing the Abenaki culture back to life.

Jesse has also worked in movies and TV shows. He was in a short film called When All the Leaves Are Gone (2010). He was a translator for the TV show Turn: Washington's Spies. Jesse was also a translator, a dialect/dialogue coach, and a composer for the National Geographic movie Saints & Strangers (2015). For this film, he translated over an hour of dialogue into the Western Abenaki language. He also spent two months in South Africa training actors for the movie.

About Jesse's Life and Education

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 recognized tribe in Vermont. He used to be a member of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, 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 worked hard to save and bring back the Abenaki language and culture. In his book The Language of Basketmaking, he helps bring attention to important writers like Henry Lorne Masta and Joseph Laurent.

Jesse 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 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 six years old. In 1990, he became the captain of his high school team. He also won the New York State Class A championship.

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 group has grown and helped train many talented martial artists. In 2011, he joined his brother Jim Bruchac as a martial arts instructor 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 start a music group called The Dawnland Singers. He formed the group with his father Joseph Bruchac, his brother James Bruchac, and his aunt Marge Bruchac. John Kirk and Ed Lowman play instruments with the group. The Dawnland Singers have performed across the United States, Canada, and Europe. They even opened for 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, including those from the Abenaki and Mohawk nations.

Books by Jesse Bruchac

Jesse Bruchac has written and helped write several books:

• 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