Joseph Bruchac
Joseph Bruchac
Joseph Bruchacis a writer of books relating to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He has published poetry, novels, and short stories. Bruchac is from Saratoga Springs, New York, and is of Abenaki, English, and Slovak ethnicity. Among his works are the novel Dawn Landand its sequel, Long River, which feature a young Abenaki man before European contact...
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth16 October 1942
exist good journals kept people records
Very good records exist about the Trail of Tears. Journals and other records kept by Cherokees and non-Indians tell such things as which people were where on which day.
clark falls found great hands lewis pacific parts putting river saw standing traveling viewing
Over the years, I found myself traveling parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail, putting my hands in the river where they set out from St. Louis, viewing the Great Falls of Montana, standing by the same Pacific Ocean they saw with such joy.
clark contact europeans history journey lewis native peace time violent
At a time when Europeans already had a long history of violent contact with Native people, Lewis and Clark made most of their journey in peace.
amazing known lives
It is amazing to me that so little is still known about the Trail of Tears or the lives of the Cherokees themselves.
characters writer
I think every writer will tell you that their characters are always partially themselves: who I am and what I've experienced. It's always there in part of my characters.
belong knowledge people special tribal whenever
My own special knowledge is about the Abenaki people and, to some degree, my Iroquois neighbors. But whenever I write anything about another tribal nation, I always get a lot of help. Not just from books, but from people who belong to that tribal nation.
began clark corps exactly fourth lewis recall suspect
I don't recall exactly when I first began reading about Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery, but I suspect that it was in fourth grade.
books indians viewpoint written
I often find myself unsatisfied with books 'about' Indians because they are written from the viewpoint of non-Indians.
people stories
I'm inspired by many different things. Often, I'm inspired by experiences I've had, books I've read, people I've met, stories I've heard.
birthright cheated less peace treated tried wished
The Cherokees tried to do everything within the law and wished only to live in peace on their own lands. Yet they were cheated out of their birthright and treated as if they were less than human.
doubt guilt needs
Guilt can make you doubt yourself at the very moment when you need to proceed with certainty.
horse men white
When the Lakota leader Sitting Bull was asked by a white reporter why his people loved and respected him, Sitting Bull replied by asking if it was not true that among white people a man is respected because he has many horses, many houses? When the reporter replied that was indeed true, Sitting Bull then said that his people respected him because he kept nothing for himself.
fate shapes events
Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes events?
long remember our-family
As long as we can remember them, our families will always be with us.