Joseph Bruchac facts for kids

Joseph Bruchac, born on October 16, 1942, is an American writer and storyteller from New York. He writes mostly about the lives and traditional stories of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially those from the northeastern part of North America. He has written many poetry books, novels, and short stories. Two of his well-known novels are Dawn Land (1993) and Long River (1995). These books tell the story of a young Abenaki man from a time before Europeans arrived in America.

About Joseph Bruchac's Life

Joseph Bruchac grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York. He shares that his family background includes Abenaki, English, and Slovak roots. He is a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation, which is a recognized tribe in Vermont.

Joseph Bruchac's Education

Joseph Bruchac has studied a lot! He earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Cornell University. Then, he got a master's degree in literature and creative writing from Syracuse University. Later, he completed his PhD in comparative literature from the Union Institute & University.

Joseph Bruchac's Career

Writing and Storytelling

Joseph Bruchac is a very busy writer and storyteller. He has published more than 120 books! Much of his writing explores his Abenaki heritage and shares Native American stories. He started publishing his works in 1971. He has even worked on eight books with his son, Jim. In 1999, he received a special Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.

Joseph Bruchac also co-wrote the Keepers of the Earth series with Michael J. Caduto. His poems, articles, and stories have appeared in over 500 different publications. These include famous magazines like National Geographic Magazine. He has also edited several collections of modern poetry and stories. One of these, Breaking Silence, won an American Book Award.

He helped start the Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers. This group helps Native American authors get their books published. For over 50 years, he has worked to connect Native American writers and communities.

With his late wife, Carol, he also started the Greenfield Review Literary Center and the Greenfield Review Press.

Musician and Performer

Joseph Bruchac is not just a writer; he's also a talented musician and storyteller. He plays several instruments, such as the hand drum, Native American flute, and the double wooden flute. This special flute can play two notes at the same time! He performs with his sister, Marge Bruchac, and his sons, Jim and Jesse. They perform together as a group called The Dawnland Singers.

Teacher and Educator

Joseph Bruchac has also spent time as a teacher. He volunteered to teach in Ghana for four years. After that, he taught writing classes to prisoners. He worked with people in maximum security prisons as part of a program from Skidmore College.

Joseph Bruchac's Personal Life

Joseph Bruchac lives in Porter Corners. This is a small community in the town of Greenfield, New York.

He is also interested in martial arts. He has black belts in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and karate. He even teaches martial arts classes himself!

Joseph Bruchac's Books

• Indian mountain, and other poems (1971)
• The Buffalo in the Syracuse Zoo and other poems (1972)
• The poetry of pop (1973)
• Great Meadow: Words of hearsay and heresy (1973)
• The Manabozho poems (1974)
• Turkey Brother, and other tales: Iroquois folk stories (1975)
• Flow (1975)
• The Road to Black Mountain: A Novel (1976)
• Garter snakes (1976)
• Mu'ndu Wi-'go: Ooems from Mohegan stories and the Mohegan diary of Flying Bird (Mrs. Fidelia A. H. Fielding) (1978)
• There are no trees inside the prison (1978)
• Dreams of Jesse Brown (1978)
• Stone giants & flying heads: Adventure stories of the Iroquois (1979)
• The good message of Handsome Lake (1979)
• How to start and sustain a literary magazine: practical strategies for publications of lasting value (1980)
• Iroquois stories: heroes and heroines, monsters and magic (1985)
• Survival this way: interviews with American Indian poets (1987)
• Near the mountains (1987)
• Keepers of the earth: Native American stories and environmental activities for children (1988) (1997)
• The faithful hunter: Abenaki stories (1988)
• Return of the sun: Native American tales from the Northeast Woodlands (1989)
• Long memory and other poems (1989)
• Native American stories (1991)
• Hoop snakes, hide behinds, and side-hill winders: tall tales from the Adirondacks (1991)
• Keepers of the animals: Native American stories and wildlife activities for children (1991)
• Turtle meat and other stories (1992)
• Native American animal stories (1992)
• Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back: a Native American Year of Moons (1992)
• Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear: tales from Native North America (1993) (2011)
• The Native American sweat lodge: history and legends (1993)
• Dawn Land: A novel (1993)
• Fox song (1993)
• The First Strawberries: A Cherokee story (1993)
• A boy called Slow: the true story of Sitting Bull (1994)
• Keepers of the night: Native American stories and nocturnal activities for children (1994)
• The great ball game : a Muskogee story (1994)
• The girl who married the Moon: tales from Native North America (1994) (2006)
• Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children (1994)
• The earth under Sky Bear's feet: native American poems of the land (1995)
• Long River : a novel (1995)
• The story of the Milky Way: a Cherokee tale (1995)
• The boy who lived with the bears: and other Iroquois stories (1995)
• Gluskabe and the four wishes (1995)
• Dog people : native dog stories (1995)
• Roots of survival : Native American storytelling and the sacred (1996)
• Between earth & sky : legends of Native American sacred places (1996)
• Four ancestors : stories, songs, and poems from Native North America (1996)
• Children of the longhouse (1996)
• Native American gardening : stories, projects, and recipes for families (1996)
• The circle of thanks (1996)
• The maple thanksgiving (1996)
• Eagle song (1997)
• Many nations : an alphabet of Native America (1997)
• Tell me a tale : a book about storytelling (1997)
• Lasting Echoes: An oral history of Native American people (1997)
• Bowman's store: a journey to myself (1997) (2001)
• The heart of a chief: with connections (1998)
• The arrow over the door (1998)
• When the Chenoo howls : Native American tales of terror (1998)
• The waters between : a novel of the dawn land (1998)
• Heart of a chief : a novel (1998)
• Seeing the circle (1999)
• No borders : new poems (1999)
• The Trail of Tears (1999)
• Squanto's journey : the story of the first Thanksgiving (2000)
• Crazy horse's vision (2000)
• Sacajawea : the story of Bird Woman and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (2000)
• Native American games and stories (2000)
• Trails of tears, paths of beauty (2000)
• Pushing up the sky : seven native American plays for children (2000)
• Skeleton Man (2001)
• Journal of Jesse Smoke: a Cherokee boy (2001)
• How Chipmunk got his stripes: a tale of bragging and teasing (2001)
• Navajo long walk: the tragic story of a proud people's forced march from their homeland (2002)
• Winter people (2002)
• Seasons of the circle : a Native American year (2002)
• Warriors (2003)
• Turtle's race with Beaver: a traditional Seneca story (2003)
• Pocahontas (2003) (2005)
• Our stories remember : American Indian history, culture, & values through storytelling (2003)
• Can Turtle fly? : a Lakota folk tale (2004)
• Rachel Carson : preserving a sense of wonder (2004)
• The dark pond (2004)
• Hidden Roots (2004)
• Jim Thorpe's bright path (2004)
• Raccoon's last race : a traditional Abenaki story (2004)
• Code talker : a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two (2005)
• Foot of the mountain and other stories (2005)
• At the end of Ridge Road (2005)
• Whisper in the dark (2005)
• Wabi: a hero's tale (2006)
• Geronimo (2006)
• The return of Skeleton Man (2006)
• Jim Thorpe: original All-American (2006)
• Bearwalker (2007)
• March toward the thunder (2008)
• Lay-ups and long shots: an anthology of short stories (2008)
• The girl who helped thunder and other Native American folktales (2008)
• Buffalo song (2008)
• Night wings (2009)
• Dawn land (2010)
• My father is taller than a tree (2010)
• Wolf mark (2011)
• Dragon castle (2011)
• Rabbit's snow dance: a traditional Iroquois story (2012)
• Killer of Enemies (2013)
• Walking two worlds (2015)
• The Hunter's Promise: An Abenaki Tale (2015)
• Trail of the dead (2015)
• Chenoo: a novel (2016)
• Brothers of the buffalo: a novel about the Red River War (2016)
• (The) Long Run (2016)
• Talking Leaves (2016)
• Arrow of lightning (2017)
• Chester Nez and the unbreakable code: a Navajo code talker's story (2018)
• Two roads (2018)
• Giving Thanks (2019)
• Peace Maker (2021)

Awards and Special Honors

In 1996, Joseph Bruchac received the Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature. This award is given by the New York Library Association. It honors a New York State author who has consistently written high-quality books for young people. These books must also support the learning goals of New York State schools.

His 2004 book, Jim Thorpe's Bright Path, won the Carter G. Woodson Book Award in 2005.

Other awards he has received include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry. He also won the Cherokee Nation Prose Award and the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature. In 1998, he was named both Writer of the Year and Storyteller of the Year by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. He received the NWCA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

See also

In Spanish: Joseph Bruchac para niños