Bruchac, Jesse Bowman (Abenaki)

 A graduate of Goddard College, where his thesis was the creation of a syllabus for teaching the Abenaki language, Jesse Bruchac has worked extensively over the last 15 years in projects involving the preservation of the Abenaki language, storytelling, music and traditional culture. He is the creator and webmaster of the Abenaki Language site <westernabenaki.com> as well as  the Greenfield Review Literary Center's site focussing on American Indian writers <nativeauthors.com>  

A traditional storyteller and musician whose specialty is the native flute, he is the founder of the Dawn Land Singers and has performed American Indian music at festivals and in concert throughout the United States, in Canada, and in several European nations. He performed at Woodstock 2 and as the opening act for The Grateful Dead at Highgate, Vermont.  Most recently, he has been a featured performer at such festivals as the Champlain Valley Festival in Vermont, the Dance Flurry in Saratpga Springs, N.Y., and the Old Songs Festival in Altamont, N.Y. He also performs frequently as a visiting artist in schools.

 His recordings include the CDs ALNOBAK, SONGS OF THE WABANAKI , PABEKONGAN:FLUTE SONGS, SONGS OF SPIRIT and the most rceent Dawnland Singers CD HONOR SONGS, for which he wrote all of the songs that are in the Abenaki language. His original music has been used in the soundtracks of over a dozen films including ADIRONDACK BLUE and SOURCE TO THE SEA. His first book, MOSBAS AND THE MAGIC FLUTE, a bilingual telling in Abenaki and English of a traditional tale in picture book form was published in 2010.

He and his wife Jessica live in Greenfield Center, New York with their two small children Carolyn Rose and Jacob.