Joseph Bruchac, author, storyteller, presenter and fake Abenaki

[douglaslloydbuchholz]

Multiple published books and at speaking engagements across this land, Mr. Joseph Edward Bruchac III, (along with his sister Margaret Bruchac - Kennick, and his sons (her nephews) James Edward Bruchac and Jesse Bowman Bruchac have perpetuated and insinuated and peddled the story that their ancestor Jesse Elmer Bowman (which would include his numerous siblings) father, "Lewis Henry Bowman Sr. was an Abenaki Indian man, that came down from St. Francis (the Bruchac pointedly state that this MUST BE Odanak), into Saratoga County, New York and that this man and his wife, were basket makers, hiding-in-plain-sight" here in the Northeast since the early 1970's.

Much of the documentation and merits of their fraud and appropriation of an Abenaki identity, is now posted on the http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2016/03/lewis-henry-bowman-and-joseph-edward.html

Please review the documents and the content on this aforementioned blog. Pertaining to the Bruchac's specifically is a six post mapping. But also here as well:

http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2013/02/joseph-bruchac-marge-margaret-bruchac.html

The Bruchac family of Greenfield, Saratoga County, have gained much status, and PROFIT and friendships with native and non-native peoples alike, from their stories about Lewis Bowman being an Abenaki, and or that of his son Jesse being Abenaki. etc etc etc.

As follows in the Y-DNA markers and Haplogroup for the descendant of Lewis Henry Bowman Sr. in comparative to the Obomsawin's of Odanak, the Abenaki Community in which the Bruchac Family claims their ancestor Lewis H. Bowman Sr. is the son of.

Lewis (Haplo: R-M269) Henry Bowman's Y-DNA Markers:
12-23-15-10-11-17-12-12-13-14-13-30-15-9-10-11-11-24-15-18-28-14-17-17-17-10-11-19-23-15-15

Louis (Haplo: Q1a3a1) Napoleon O'Bomsawin's Y-DNA Markers:
13-23-13-10-15-17-12-12-12-14-14-31-14-9-  9-11-10-27-14-21-30-13-18-19-20-12-11-19-23-15-16

NOTICE that the Y-Marker numbers DO NOT MATCH between Bowman and O'Bomsawin.

This PROVES that the two men ARE NOT RELATED ancestrally at all.

Lewis Henry Bowman Sr. CANNOT BE ... As Joseph Edward Bruchac III's has written and stated his ancestor's narrative.

That Bruchac published narrative is now genetically proven wrong.

Across this land and in Europe (the Netherlands and Germany particular, by Joseph Bruchac III, his sister Marge and husband Justin Kennick, as well as Joseph's son's Jim and Jesse have long perpetuated that they are descendants of the Obomsawin Abenaki family, and in so doing, falsely claimed their ancestor came from "St. Francis" (in specific reference to Odanak) repeatedly, in published books, they or other Publishers have printed and distributed, at their Speaking Engagements etc.

Margaret Marie Bruchac - Kennick herself has established herself in many forums, and employed at numerous educational facilities:

http://www.maligeet.net/Biographical_Info.html

It has been Self Promotion and Profiteering based on the insertions of these self-proclaiming "Abenaki" who are pretenders, and who without any hesitation, provided the public and to the Educational Arena that that they sought an audience, not to mention the published and distributed books, that they were Abenakis, that their ancestors Lewis and his son Jesse Bowman were Abenakis, descended directly and paternally from the Obomsawin Family, to their own economic benefit.

Please be aware that this is 'typical' of those who allied with and are associated with the "Abenaki" dynamic within Vermont and surrounding states of NY, NH, MA, RI, CT, and ME.

Be forewarned, the Bruchac Family appropriated and carried this persona and carried out this Abenaki Identity Theft for years, and they will continue to believe in their own lies and distortions. Because that is who they are ...

The proof wasn't in the pudding, but rather the proof is in the DNA. As indicated by the atDNA results, neither Bowman descendant has ANY Native Genetic Contribution whatsoever.

1. Ots Toch - married a Dutchman VanSlyck she was 100% Mohawk Indian woman
2. Elizabeth VanSlyck - married a VanBuren so she would be 50% Mohawk Indian woman
3. Cornelius VanBuren - married a Dutch woman he would be 1/4% Mohawk Indian man
4. Aaltje VanNess VanBuren - she would be 1/8th Mohawk Indian woman
5. Hendrikje Fonda VanBuren - 1/16th Mohawk Indian woman
6. Douwe VanAntwerp - 1/36th Mohawk Indian
7. Winant Van Antwerp – A drop 1/64th = "Damn near nothing"
8. Daniel Wynet Van Antwerp - 1/128th = "Tiny Drop"
9. Alice Van Antwerp - 1/256th - Her was husband Lewis H. Bowman Sr.
10. Jesse Elmer Bowman - He ain't no Mohawk or an Abenaki! - 1/512th
11. Marion Flora Bowman - 1/1024th - She swore up and down she weren't no Indian!
12. Joseph Edward Bruchac III - 1/2048th - There ain't no NDN drops left
13. Jesse Bowman Bruchac - 1/4096th - “Abenaki” based on Beliefs, Theories, Guesses

[Sparks]

I am into genealogy myself, but so far I just don't understand the science behind DNA genealogy, so that part is lost on me. You do not cite any sources, either, that could explain what this is all about, and how you came to your conclusions. I can much better appreciate the paper trail genealogy work shown in your links.

The Bruchacs have been mentioned in at least 9 threads in this forum, e.g. in the opening post in this 2010 thread (my emphasis):

Hi all,
I feel I have come home, finally a group of Native people who are aware of the self identified groups and indiviuals who are usurping our Abenaki cultures, virtually identity theft.

Our tribal nation is federally recoginzed in Canada, Odanak Resrve and realy are Abenaki with lots of us tribal members here in New England.

These groups created non-profits, created chiefs, and are now demanding state recognition!! VT is fostering this Abenaki goldrush, VT is kust as liable for allowing this travesity. These groups and indiviudals make lots of money, Some self identiifed names to look into and request there evidence, one such claims we were all in hiding and now has her PhD, actually two now, that is the new method to defeat us when we speak up.

Names in VT who are self-identified as just gottn found because they were lost: Marge Bruchac, Joe Bruchac, Jesse Bruchac, John Moody and wife, Pouliot and wife Brooks, april st francis, Elnu Tribe, Nulhegan, Coowasuc, Koasek, on and on, this is unbelieveable the more I investigate and became aware of all this.

Fed. Rec. Nation actually gat a letter of support from April St Francis for our ancestors bones! THPO Sherry White of the Mohigans, out in Wisconsin. I Talked to Sherry personally and she actually believes these so called hiden "tribes"

anyway I will post, ck out reinventing vermont abenaki indians, a blog with lots of documents about this issue.
wajo

[douglaslloydbuchholz]

In the blog I cite the sources of the data. One can go to my blog and review those sourced data.

I did not cite sources here in my initial post because I just didn't want to create a long-winded post.

Here is the link to the Bruchac Time Line, compiled by me. The data is sourced.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Q1YTLuaLqPWHM5alJQZ0lScW8/view?usp=sharing

As for the Y-DNA, I will put it simply:

Buchholz No. 1: M-253 and my markers 12-12-14-16-12-19-20-12-12
Buchholz No. 2: M-253 and my markers 13-12-14-17-10-19-27-13-18

See how the numbers do not match, this means that the two Buchholz are not related.

Now say for example

Buchholz No. 3: M-253 and my markers 12-12-14-16-12-19-20-12-12
Buchholz No. 4: M-253 and my markers 12-13-14-16-12-19-21-12-12

Tester 1 and 3 are perfect match. They are related through a distant male ancestor.
Tester 4 is related but is one marker mutation difference from 1 and 3.
Tester 2 is not related at all.

This is how we know that Lewis Henry Bowman Sr. and Louis Napoleon Obomsawin are not related.
Meaning that Obomsawin's and Bowman's are NOT related ancestrally with one another.
Lewis Henry Bowman's father was NOT an Obomsawin, which contradicts what Bruchac's have been saying and publishing in their books.

I can answer "what this is all about" quite easily.

March 07, 2002
Jack Lynch (brother-in-law to Joe Bruchac)

http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/bowman/4772/
There presently is a family group from this line that is circulating unfounded genealogical information for their personal economic benefit, so be careful.

In 2007, there was a Message Board conversation, http://boards.ancestry.com/topics.ethnic.natam.nations.abenaki.abenakinat/240/mb.ashx in which some posted messages were for and against Bowman being from the Obomsawin Abenaki family. Within these posted messages, was one response received by a Ibgen1 who had some interesting details shared, but never really clarified genealogically speaking. We're working with what details were posted by this submitter, in our research now.

Also during this long thread of messages,  Carollee Reynolds also attempted to claim that her Partlow ancestors were identified as Abenakis/Indians in the Civil War Era at the time of enlistment. This is also not true. Those four Indians of Alburg, were Akwesasne Mohawk men. Had they really done their research, they would have known this. But of course, they along with Professor Wiseman simply didn't show the original records because the truth didn't fit their manipulated narrative for the Colonizer State of Vermont of whom these fake Abenakis were proffering up unsubstantiated un-vetted "evidence" and "proof. Certainly the genealogical evidence of alleged "Abenaki" ancestor was NEVER evaluated transparently!

In the Ancestry.com Message Board Postings, migakawinno [Jesse Bowman Bruchac … Joseph Bruchac’s son] wrote a response. It was then that I began to smell BS. Joe Bruchac's son was stating that "his father took a leap?" etc.

June 13, 2012
Ancestry.com Message Board
From: jacklynch2833 [Jack Lynch]
Subject: Re: Mary and Alice Vanantwerp, Bowman, Saratoga Co. NY
Louis Bowman was born in East Farnham, Quebec to Charles and Sophie Bowman. At this level there is no sure connection with Abenaki lineage. If it exists, it is further back. After Charles death in the 1840s, Sophie married a man with the last name Senecal. This link has caused some native ancestry suggestions to be raised, but it does not go to the Bowman line.

June 24, 2015
From: "Irene" an Odanak Abenaki member
Always, and I appreciate your efforts, a style different then mine, but we are on the same page. I have been away, but not hidden, never hidden, following from a safe distance. After these long years I am finally able to pursue my Vocation and embracing both my heritage and talent for the first time ever. I was able to register at Odanak after my grandmother passed, my mother wanting to retire to Odanak, someday soon maybe. Then seeing what has become of Cecile Wawanolett's legacy and Elie Joubert, makes me cry, not sick, but just cry. I walk a fine line between both worlds, trying to make sense of how things can be fixed, if at all.
My only pain has always been with Jesse Bruchac and his aunt Marge for making my relative upset, and for stealing our stories, downright making them up. Others are also watching /fighting the battle on our turf. So I watch my actions, I have to, but I am not naive. But it is hard to be Abenaki anywhere; when the first question is … Do you know that 'ole Joe'? Defenseless in numbers of those who agree, all I can respond with is "Who? Never heard of him"


It was at this time I began to investigate the relationship between Alexander Haley and Joseph Edward Bruchac III because "Irene" had made mention of that connection unbeknownst to me before.

I began soliciting through Ancestry.com known Lewis Henry Bowman Sr. descendants to see about doing a Y-DNA test. Thereafter, Jesse Bowman Bruchac created a webpage http://westernabenaki.com/bowman.php were, for all intents and purposes, he was "fishing" genealogically for every Bowman who was identified as Native along the Eastern Coast and into the interior of the US. Even in this webpage, he stupidly attempts to 'attach' Bowman's to the Phillips family, who are also NOT Abenakis at all. Delina or Rosa Delima BENOIT dit Livernois who married Peter Philips Sr. (Antoine Phelps / Philps/ Philips / Phillips and his french wife, Catherine Emery dit Coderre) was not a Bowman at all. But Bruchac isn't doing genealogy, he's not trained as a genealogist, and he's just "fishing" for anything out of desperation.

From my Ancestry.com Messages soliciting a possible Y-DNA tester of the Bowman descendants "below" Louis/Lewis Henry Bowman St. and Alice Van Antwerp(en), I heard nothing. I spoke directly with Jesse Bowman Bruchac in Dec. 2015 and he agreed, him and his father were interested in doing the Family Finder testing, so I sent them the two FTDNA kits. I heard nothing for 15 days. I inquired ... the reply was "I've been busy". It takes 2 minutes to do the test, and the postage back to me was already paid for. By late December, I suspected the Bruchac's were "playing me." But I got lucky in early January of 2016. A Bowman descendant emailed me back from my earlier July 2015 email through Ancestry.com and we began to communicate. His father knew of a Mr. Bowman and ten minutes later I was on the phone with Mr. Bowman himself. We began the testing once the completed kit was returned to me. For both the Y-DNA and the atDNA (autosomal) or Family Finder testing. We waited. Meanwhile I tried to include Mr. Jesse B. Bruchac in discussion about my research into the Bowman's.

Suffice it to say, that Jesse Bowman Bruchac has been indoctrinated by the "I'm-an-Abenaki" from a very early age, by his father, and encouraged to 'attach' himself to that identity, even to the point of saying he was an Obomsawin descendant as well, UNTIL the late Odanak Chief, Gilles Obomsawin sought to validate those claims by the Bruchac's. Today, after years of claiming they are Obomsawin descendants through their Bowman line, Jesse Bowman Bruchac is now in a relationship with Angie-Pepper Obomsawin, daughter of the Odanak Chief Rick Obomsawin. (Yes, I also rolled my eyes). Especially when Jesse B. Bruchac stated to me that he was quote being pulled back into Odanak for the creation of a new youth drum group.

People NEED to know that these people are NOT who they have claimed to be, nor what they have claimed and implied to be factual, is not actually facts, but rather their imaginings. All "for the sake of their own personal economic benefit" as Jack Lynch stated back in March 2002 (?)

I recommend a review of these particular three books as to the 'real' Mr. Joseph Edward Bruchac III, and the distortions he's published about his grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was infatuated with being an Indian. Abenaki was a 'nice fit' in 1977-1978.

"Seeing the Circle" by Joseph Bruchac (1999) Pages 12-13
"Growing Up Abenaki" by Joseph Bruchac as told by Pat Cusick (2008)
"March Toward The Thunder" by Joseph Bruchac (2008) Pages 292-293
"Joseph Bruchac: An Author Kids Love" (2010) Pages 12, 18, etc.

Why do I recommend these three children's books regarding Joseph Bruchac III (?)

Because with children, they do not question, they simply accept as truth what's written in a book.
And Mr. Joseph Bruchac III is more likely to have a 'grain of truth' as to what was really going on, when he is writing a children's book, because they are not adults, they won't confront him with the contradictory details therein. 

[douglaslloydbuchholz]

September 26, 1986
The Schenectady Gazette Newspaper, Page 11
Indian Stories Program will held Sunday
GLOVERSVILLE – A program of American Indian storytelling will be presented at 12:15 p.m. Sunday at First Congregational Church of Christ.
The first in a year-long series of cultural programs to be offered by the church, Sunday’s program features Joseph Bruchac, a poet of Abenaki Indian ancestry from Greenfield Center whose stories were told to him by his grandfather, Jesse Bowman.

Now let's jump forward into 2014/2015 ....
October 13, 2014
Tulsa Library to honor award-winning author Joseph Bruchac
Written by John Fancher, Tulsa Public Library Media Release
TULSA, Okla. – Joseph Bruchac will receive the Tulsa Library Trust’s “Festival of Words Writers Award” March 7, 2015, 10:30 a.m., at Hardesty Regional Library’s Connor’s Cove, 8316 E. 93rd St.
“The only time he even mentioned the word ‘Indian’ was when he told me, more than once, how he left school in the fourth grade, jumping out the window and never coming back because they kept calling him a ‘dirty Indian,’” recalled Joseph Bruchac. “I had to go outside my own immediate family to hear those stories , which for some reason I was always eager to hear. Because of his dark skin and very Indian appearance, he dealt with prejudice often during his life and that made him reticent to speak directly about being Indian.”

Now let's make this a bit easier to see shall we:

1. Joseph Bruchac, a poet of Abenaki Indian ancestry from Greenfield Center whose stories were told to him by his grandfather, Jesse Bowman.

2. Joseph Bruchac. “I had to go outside my own immediate family to hear those stories ...

[WINative]

I just saw this flyer locally and many Native people want to go and see him speak, it's unfortunate he's been able to fool so many, and make profit off the stories of Iroquois people. Many people don't question the source and they just take people at their word.

[Diana]

You're right he's not Abenaki. Some of us hear at NAPFS did his genealogy several years ago and big surprise! All white. The reason we didn't post it was out of respect for a well known associate that is fooled by him and his claim of Native blood. I can post what I've found, but it's up to the group. Everyone let me know.

I just saw this flyer locally and many Native people want to go and see him speak, it's unfortunate he's been able to fool so many, and make profit off the stories of Iroquois people. Many people don't question the source and they just take people at their word.

[WINative]

I personally think the truth should always come out, friends or not, and no one should be against the truth since it's always backed up with documentation in here.

[Smart Mule]

I think it's pretty common knowledge behind the scenes in the Abenaki community that the Bruchacs aren't Abenaki. When Giles Obamsawin was chief at Odanak he was very vocal about them.

[Defend the Sacred]

I think it should be posted more openly that the Bruchacs aren't Native. Nons continue to promote them, aggressively, as nons love to promote other nons when they can. White people in particular are almost always more comfortable hanging out with other white people who will talk about Indians, rather than actual Natives who might say things that are more difficult for them to hear. And then those of us who know they're not Native wind up having to awkwardly explain the situation to aggressive white people who don't want to listen.

[Smart Mule]

Douglas Buchholz has had a ton of information available for a long time but it's unfortunately mostly ignored. He's done an incredible amount of work regarding the family.

[Smart Mule]

Also of note, Marge Bruchac now has quite a bit of pull in academia.

[WINative]

I have talked to some respected Natives from Canada and the United States and they all believe Joseph Bruchac to be Native and even claimed a friendship with him and said he was a quarter Abenaki, so many Native Americans and First Nations believe him to be as well.
 I think this post should be moved to research and titled in his name, if the evidence is there that's he's not Indigenous, then that's the point of this site. He's clearly made money off an Indigenous identity and specifically Iroquois culture.

[Smart Mule]

Marge, his sister, cites herself on her CV as a descendant so I'm not sure how her brother could possibly be 1/4. http://www.maligeet.net/Biographical_Info.html

[cheetos paws]

Another vote in favor of posting it. This is information people need to know, b/c they're using their claims to Abenaki lineage as a selling point, and a lot of people believe it.

[douglaslloydbuchholz]

Research of this dynamic regarding Bruchac's "Bowman" ancestry is continually evolving, and the pieces of this puzzle are continually being discerned and put together with the rest of the gathered pieces. Please bear in mind that this work is a 'work-in-progress'.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SswlHz1m5V32cQyEk8x0tnDqN_bpdYbV/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oxz-Ih5aWfy843M_M9NJLscXiTzzrqiP/view?usp=sharing

I am also going to do a posting in the blog 'Reinvention of the Vermont and New Hampshire Abenaki as well soon regarding the Bruchac's ancestral connections to the the Senecal lineage.

At this point in time, I am detecting through a 67 Marker Y-DNA match that Lewis Bowman (1844-1918) was a Non Paternity Event (NPE) of Elizabeth Sophie Senecal dite Laframboise prior to her living with or marrying to George(s) Rhemond/ Raymond in the Granby, Quebec, Canada geographical area.

Genetic testing at AncestryDNA proves very clearly that she is the mother of Lewis Bowman, whom his descendant, Margaret Bruchac - Kennick IMPLIED was a Native Abenaki woman in both her write-up's that were published in her books. Even Joseph Bruchac IMPLIES that Sophie Senecal was an Indian Abenaki woman in March Toward the Thunder !! ... storytellers indeed.

I am personally not completely 100% percent sure out Ots-Took, the Mohawk connection in the 1600's but I have (I think) configured the Montauk Indian connection to the Bruchac ancestry (again in the 1600's) ... Neither ancestral connection makes Bruchac's nor Bowman's ABENAKIS whatsoever.

As in regards to the Lewis "Bowman" we are detecting a Y-DNA connection to the Jacques Vaudry of Lamberville, Upper Normandie, France whom married to Jeanne Renaud in 1661 Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada. Vaudry's were in Montreal, and did relocate to the Granby Township area, and descendants did migrate into the States, as did Elisabeth Sophie Senecal's brother Jean Baptiste Senecal's descendants (particularly into Rutland, Vermont) with ties to Greenfield, Saratoga County, NY with one branch. More research is being done on the Vaudry Y-DNA connection(s).

As far as Joe and or Marge, or his two son's being Abenakis, its a mythical storytelling indeed. They can believe and perpetuate the myth all the want to for fame or $$$$ but it begins and ends with genealogical truth.

If anyone would like to discern the actual documents, and research, please communicate privately with my person and I will share, as my time allows.