ReadWonder: An Inside Look #187 (Author INTERVIEW)

An Inside Look with Joseph Bruchac

(Author of Rez Dogs)

Welcome to my favorite feature of my blog...

*Season #ONE (June of 2016 to March of 2017)

*Season #TWO (Summer of 2017)

*Season #THREE (School Year 2017/2018)

*Season #FOUR (Summer/fall of 2018)

*Season #FIVE (School Year 2018/2019)

*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)

*Season #SEVEN (Fall 2019)

*Season #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)

*Season #NINE (Fall 2020)

*Season #TEN (Winter/Spring 2021)

*I'm excited to be back for season #ELEVEN with brand new interviews/authors.

*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.

*This is the NINTH interview in which I'm calling Season #ELEVEN.

*Thank you to Joseph Bruchac for being the One-Hundred Eighty-Seventh author I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.

Rez Dogs

by Joseph Bruchac

(June 8, 2021)

How did you come to know Malian?

During the last year and a half, it’s been my regular practice to get up each morning and walk my dog. We live on a nature preserve in the Adirondack foothills and there are miles of trails and old roads where we can walk a long way without running into another person.

But that is where I ran into Malian. As I was walking one morning, her name and her story just appeared in my mind. It seems as if I could hear her voice and see what she was going through. She shares a lot in common with other young people I’ve known of her age, met while visiting Wabanaki schools and doing presentations at them in New England and Nova Scotia. There is also a bit in her of my 15-year-old granddaughter Carolyn Rose.

What do you think is her most admirable quality?

I think that she has a number of admirable qualities. But one of them, in particular, is her ability to listen well—to stories, to good advice—and then put into practice what she learned through being a good listener. (In a number of our traditional Wabanaki stories, the main character is a young woman whose name is Little Listener is the one who saves the day.)

Is there anything you wish Malian would have changed or done differently in her story?

I have to say I am very satisfied with the way she conducted herself throughout the story. So, there’s nothing that I wish that she had done differently.

What do you think she can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?

Be patient with yourself and with those around you. Be helpful where you can and remember that other people are having problems, too. You are not alone.

How did you research Malian and the circumstances she found herself in?

I didn’t do any research during the writing of the story, aside from paying attention to the news. However, you could say that I have been researching the story for many decades – – by listening to elders, to storytellers, and by paying close attention whenever I have been visiting friends on any of our reservations. The setting for her story is very real, even though I have put it on a fictional Reservation.

Do you and she share any similarities?

I like to think that, like her, I am a good listener and patient with others. Plus, we both love and are good at remembering stories. Further, both of us have learned a lot from our four-legged canine friends.

What was the hardest scene to write about Malian?

I think the ending was the hardest for me to write. I really didn’t want to leave her and her grandparents, but it was the logical place to conclude.

Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?

I don’t think you could say at any one of Malian’s supporters was the biggest one. Malsum, her grandmother, and grandfather played equally important roles. I think you could say that her biggest supporter was that family community — made up of her grandparents and the dog that came to help them.

Why do you think humans and animals have such a special connection?

In all of our Native American traditions and cultures, humans and animals are regarded as being of equal importance. Further, animals are always teaching us things. In many of our traditions, we’re taught that the animals were here before the people and that it is through their help we survive.

Quite frankly, when someone is not connected to animals, that person may not be leading a full life. All of us are together here on this planet, sharing the land, the waters, the air and the light of the sun. Of course we’re connected.

What do you think Malian is doing as the present time?

I think Malian is back in school now, not taking it for granted and making the most of it. I suspect, like my granddaughter Carolyn, she’s really good at volleyball and enjoying being back on the team. She is also still learning from stories— Including those in the books that she’s always borrowing from the school library, which is her favorite room in the school. And she is looking forward to her next visit to her grandparents and hoping Malsum will show up to see her then.

*Here are links to the One Hundred Eighty-Six interviews...

SEASON #ONE (2016-2017)

Interview #1 with Elly Swartz (Author of Finding Perfect)

Interview #2 with Jeff Zentner (Author of The Serpent King)

Interview #3 with Nora Raleigh Baskin (Author of Nine, Ten, A September 11 Story)

Interview #4 with Cammie McGovern (Author of Just My Luck)

Interview #5 with Kate Messner (Author of The Seventh Wish)

Interview #6 with Paul Griffin (Author of When Friendship Followed Me Home)

Interview #7 with K.A. Holt (Author of House Arrest)

Interview #8 with Abby Cooper (Author of Sticks and Stones)

Interview #9 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Counting Thyme)

Interview #10 with Claire Legrand (Author of Some Kind of Happiness)