Love of reading inspired
author Joseph Bruchac to write

"This is not tokenism, it is the broadening of our nation's literary horizons."

—Joseph Bruchac

Joseph Bruchac, storyteller, writer, poet and musician, lives in the Adirondack foothills of New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. His Abenaki heritage is a constant source of inspiration, and he works extensively to preserve Abenaki culture, language, and traditional Native skills.

Author or co-author of more than 70 books for children, Bruchac holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio.

What prompted you to write for children and young adults?

On one level, I have to say that I became a writer because I loved to read. The excitement of reading led to my wanting to share things I cared about through writing. Sharing has always been a very important theme in my life -- part of the belief that we must always give back as much as we get.

I began as a poet and still write a great deal of poetry which has been published in such journals as American Poetry Review, The Paris Review and hundreds of small literary magazines. About twenty-five years ago, though, I began to focus on retelling traditional stories and writing for younger readers. As a father with two young sons, I found myself becoming aware of how poorly, how inaccurately, how insensitively, American Indian people were portrayed in books for kids, even such well-loved books as Little House on the Prairie.

What do you hope to accomplish with your books?

I don't think I've ever consciously set out to accomplish anything other than telling a story as well and truthfully as I could. Communication, clarity, and honesty have been my hope. If, along the way, I have given people a better and fuller picture of Native peoples and cultures then I am very pleased. Please note my use of the plural. American Indian cultures, languages, and individuals are so incredibly varied. I want people to be aware of that diversity and complexity.

How would you like teachers teachers and parents, who may be accustomed to innacurate or stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans, to use your work?

First of all, I hope they will look at my work with open minds. People become very attached to those old portrayals and may really love such books as Knots on a Counting Rope, Anna and the Old One, The Indian in the Cupboard and The Sign of the Beaver, which have some heart-warming messages in them but are deeply inaccurate and, in some cases, racist in their portrayals of Indians. Read what I have written, consider the sources of my work, and compare it with other books that may have given one-dimensional or stereotyped pictures of Native people.

Second, I hope teachers won't see my work as the be-all and end-all. If, for example, they read my novel Sacajawea, I hope it will lead them to seek out more information about the Shoshones and other Native peoples in the book, especially from the Shoshones themselves. (Luckily, a great many Native American Nations now have or are developing their own web sites, so access is easier than in the past.)

If teachers read my new novel from Scholastic, The Journal of Jesse Smoke, A Cherokee Boy on the Trail of Tears, I hope they'll look at the web site of the Cherokee Nation or buy a tape or a book by Gayle Ross (one of the finest American Indian storytellers and a descendant of Chief John Ross of the Cherokee), such as How Turtle's Back Was Cracked.

Do Native American children have specific needs when it comes to seeing themselves portrayed in books?

Yes. Honesty instead of stereotypes. Complexity instead of simple-minded pictures of either "noble savages" or "murdering redskins." And present-day images, as opposed to only seeing Indians in the past. When you can find yourself in a good book, find an image that inspires you and gives you hope, you may begin to use that image to shape your own dreams.

What do you think of multicultural children's literature today?

I'm very encouraged. Not only are more voices being heard, they are worthy of being heard by any standards. Further, the presence and success of such truly multi-cultural presses as Lee and Low is a very good sign. This is not tokenism, it is the broadening of our nation's literary horizons. After decades of staring at the same white wall, we've begun looking out the windows at the mountains and opening our doors to the possibilities of new, exciting and life-changing journeys. But we are just at the start of those journeys. We need to step through the door.

Who are other Native American authors you believe are making a real mark on children's literature today?

Among those writers who are currently active, there are several people making such a mark:

I've already mentioned Gayle Ross (Cherokee), who is both a storyteller and a writer.

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Lakota) has been at this the longest--several of her books that were first published decades ago have been reissued and she is writing a wonderful non-fiction series on various tribal nations for Holiday House.

Then there is Michael Lacapa (Tewa/Apache/Hopi) who is a writer, a storyteller AND the illustrator of his books.

Louise Erdrich (Ojibwa), already one of America's finest novelists (note that I did not say "finest Native American novelists"--she is just one of the best) has made a recent and quite wonderful entry into writing for children with picture books and her superb, highly praised novel The Birchbark House.

Geri Keams(Navajo), another professional storyteller and former actress has now done several picture books.

A number of others have either written mostly for adult audiences or just started publishing. As a result, none of them have more than one or two books for children now in print. I'm hoping to hear more in the future from such people as:

Joel Monture (Mohawk)

Simon Ortiz (Acoma)

N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa)

S.D. Nelson (Lakota)

Cynthia Smith (Creek)

Virginia Stroud (Cherokee)

Richard VanCamp (Dogrib)

Cheryl Savageau (Abenaki)

There is a lot of Indian talent out there and I hope publishers are paying attention.

How can we encourage young people, particularly young people of minority cultures, to write children's books and books for young adults?

By publishing them. We do not have enough outlets for young "minority" writers. We need more publishers willing to take a chance on the unknowns. We also need good mentoring, both in school and beyond. I belong to an organization called Wordcraft Circle that was founded in 1992 by Laguna Pueblo teacher and writer Lee Francis, who directs the Native American Studies program at the University of New Mexico, to provide one-on-one mentoring to young Native writers and storytellers. We also have a newsletter, an on-line magazine, yearly awards and conferences. Hundreds of American Indian writers have been involved over the last decade. Sherman Alexie, for example, a powerful young American Indian author for adults, has worked with us as a mentor for a younger Native writer.

Where do you get inspiration? Where do you go for your research?

It is different every time. Sometimes my first source is a dream. At other times it is a story that someone tells me. It may come from reading a news article or from such memorable experiences as climbing a mountain in Oklahoma with a Cheyenne friend before dawn to greet the sun. Or it may come from memory. When I do research I look in every direction I can think--from libraries to knowledgeable elders. (I also try to purchase my own copies of every book in print on the subject--which is how I came to have the entire set of the Journals of Lewis and Clark edited by Gary Moulton.) I do look at the Internet, but there I urge caution. I have found a lot of misinformation online. A LOT!

Where can educators and parents go to find a greater diversity of books, voices, and images?

Here are two books I'd recommend. One is the classic and ground-breaking study of Native Americans in children's literature, Through Indian Eyes by Beverly Slapin and Dorothy Seale, published by Oyate. The other is Multicultural Voices in Contemporary Literature by Frances Ann Day, from Heinemann.

*****

For more information, including Joseph Bruchac's touring schedule and list of published works, visit his web site.

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