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Table of ContentsJoseph Bruchac
Author, Storyteller, Musician
Growing Up…
Born October 16, 1942
He was raised by his maternal grandparents.
His grandfather was barely literate, but his grandmother had a law degree and filled their homes with books.
American Indian, Slovak, and English roots
Why write Native American Literature?
Education and Accomplishments
*B.A. from Cornell University
*M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse
*Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio
*Rockefeller Humanities fellowship
*National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry
*Cherokee Nation Prose Award
*Knickerbocker Award
*Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature
*1998 Writer of the Year and Storyteller of the Year from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers
*1999 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas
Career
*Keta Secondary School, Ghana West Africa, Teacher of English and Literature 1966-69
*Skidmore College, Sarasota Springs, instructor of creative writing and African and black literatures, 1969-73
*University without Walls, 1974-1981
*writer and storyteller 1981-present
*writer and editor of Greenfield Review, 1969-1987
*Greenfield Review Literacy Center director, 1981-present
*musician with Dawn Land Singers, recording stories and music on Abenaki Cultural Heritage and Alnobak, Good Mind Records.
*Member of adjunct faculty at Hamilton College, 1983, 1985, 1987, and State University of New York—Albany, 1987-88
*storyteller-in-residence at CRC Institute for Arts in Education, 1989-90, and at other institutions, including Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, St. Regis Mohawk Indian School, Seneca Nation School, Onondaga Indian School, Institute of Alaska Native Arts, and Annsville Youth Facility
A Boy Called Slow
Between Earth and Sky
Buffalo Song
Crazy Horse's Vision
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet
The First Strawberries
The Great Ball Game
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes
Many Nations
The Maple Thanksgiving
Navajo Long Walk
Rabbit's Snow Dance
Raccoon's Last Race
and many more...120 titles total!
Native American Children's Literature
Titles by Bruchac
*Still lives in the house he was raised in, in Greenfield Center, New York
.
*He works alongside his sister Margaret, and his sons James and Jesse, to preserve Abenaki culture, language, and native skills.
*Performs traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.
*Visits elementary and secondary schools to share his storytelling and discusses Native culture.
Where is he now?
Teaching Tips
**Use the book Codetalkers during a study on World War II to offer a Native American perspective.
**Compare the experiences and stories from the the Native American perspective of Thanksgiving using Squanto's Journey (Bruchac) with Encounter (Jane Yolen).
**Use How Chipmunk Got Its Stripes to illustrate Native American mythology and as an explanation of an event in nature.
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