Joseph Bruchac is a proud citizen and member of the Elders Council of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation, whose population is primarily located in New England and Southeast Canada. His deep connections to his Abenaki heritage heavily influence his writing, illustrated in his contemporary novel in verse, Rez Dogs.

In 2022, Bruchac gave a talk at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he shared his experiences of growing up in an era where being Inigenous was not something to be proud of: “People wouldn’t call attention to their Native ancestry; they kept a low profile and tried to blend in […] My grandfather used to visit his relatives in Vermont, but never talked about being Native. He’d tell everyone he was French Canadian” (“Joseph Bruchac ’64, BA ’65, Explores the Native American Experience.” The College of Arts & Sciences, 6 Jan. 2022). Bruchac is passionate about Indigenous topics. He adds that as recently as the 1980s, when he identified as Indigenous or drew attention to Indigenous issues, he “was very much out of the mainstream” (“Joseph Bruchac ’64, BA ’65, Explores the Native American Experience.” The College of Arts & Sciences, 6 Jan.