October 24, 1994

Contact: Craig D'Ooge (202) 707-9189

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Native American Storytelling Event

The American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress will present Joseph Bruchac telling Native American stories on Thursday, November 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the Montpelier Room, 6th floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. The event is held in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month.

Although he grew up among storytellers in the Adirondack Mountain region of New York state, Joseph Bruchac heard very few Native American stories until he was a teenager. Raised by grandparents who hid their Abenaki heritage, Bruchac never suspected his ancestry was anything but English, Slovak, and "French Canadian"--a euphemism for Indian that his grandfather used. Nonetheless, Bruchac soaked up the rich folk tales and songs of the Adirondack region. His grandfather, who was a great storyteller, owned a general store where friends would gather and exchange tall tales, as well as stories about their childhoods, weaving a history of the region. One was Lawrence Older, a friend of Bruchac's grandfather who wrote folk songs that were eventually recorded by Pete Seeger.

Joseph Bruchac is an internationally acclaimed Native American storyteller, writer, and poet. An author of more than 20 books, he has drawn from his Native American heritage for inspiration and source material. Bruchac holds a B.A. degree from Cornell, an M.A. in English from Syracuse University, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Union Institute. His books, including Keepers of Life, Keepers of the Earth, Keepers of the Animals (co-written with Michael Caduto, published by Fulcrum) and his novel Dawn Land (also published by Fulcrum), have involved the retelling of traditional Native American tales.

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PR 94-164
10/24/94
ISSN 0731-3527