Ndakinna Education Center & Nature Preserve

James Bruchac was raised in the Adirondack foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York. A member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe, and eldest son of Abenaki and Adirondack storyteller Joseph Bruchac III, James grew up immersed in the natural world, storytelling and native culture.

James has both authored and co-authored books for all ages. Children’s books include How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, Turtle’s Race with Beaver, Rabbit’s Snow Dance, Raccoon’s Last Race, When the Chenoo Howls and Native American Games and Stories. General public titles include Scats and Tracks of the Northeast, Scats and Tracks of the Southeast, and Scats and Tracks of the Mid-Atlantic. James also co-authored The Girl Who Helped Thunder, an anthology of Native American tales. James is a member and former president of the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. Upcoming releases include Kids in the Woods, James Bruchac’s Animal Tracking Adventure Guide, James Bruchac’s Woodland Survival Tips and The Stories He Tells, the Story of Joseph Bruchac.

As a professional storyteller James has shared stories at hundreds of schools and libraries across the country. Whether telling an interactive animal story or a monster tale, he keeps listeners of all ages on the edge of their seats as well as part of the action. James has performed at many festivals, museums including the Smithsonian Discovery Theater (Washington DC), the Corn Island Storytelling Festival (KY), Noble Tales Festival and the Connor Prairie Museum (IN), Indian Summer and Riverbend Festivals (WI), The Boston Children’s Museum and the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum (MA), the Hudson River Clearwater Festival, the Noteworthy Indian Museum, and The Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake (NY). James and other members of his family were featured on the PBS special Adirondack Storytellers (WMHT/PBS).

As a naturalist and outdoor educator James has conducted tracking and wilderness survival-based research in all corners of the United States and Lower Canada. He has also traveled to places such as West Africa and Central America and continues his work with John Stokes and The Tracking Project in Corales, New Mexico. James is a graduate of the Tracking Project’s “Nurturing The Roots Community Mentor Program.” James’ tracking & wilderness programs include a variety of learning experiences: primitive and modern survival techniques, animal tracking, appreciation of the natural world, and Native uses of natural resources among other things.