Children of the Longhouse

by Joseph Bruchac

Eleven-year-old Ohkwa'ri and his twin sister must make peace with a hostile gang of older boys in their Mohawk village during the late 1400s.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Native American, Middle Grade, Childrens, School, Indigenous

150 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

Joseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.

He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.

As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow in spots, but a fascinating look at Native American culture before the Europeans settler's came to America.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set after the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy, and before the arrival of European settlers, Children of the Longhouse follows the story of twin brother and sister Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia, two eleven-year-old Mohawk children. When Ohkwa'ri overhears another young boy planning a foolhardy raid against the neighboring Anen:taks people, his actions prevent disaster, but also earn him some enemies. Will they take their revenge during the next Tekwaarathon (lacrosse) game, and if so, what can Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia do about it?

This is historical fiction at its best - an exciting fast-paced narrative, joined to a historically accurate portrayal of the culture of the Haudenosaunee ("People Building a Longhouse"). A wonderful novel, both engaging and informative, it is suitable for middle grade readers, and would make an excellent introduction to a unit on the Iroquois, or pre-contact American history.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book-Bruchac is a true storyteller.
Ohkwa'ri, a young boy of the Mohawk tribe, overhears other boys planning trouble. Ohkwa'ri
and his twin sister go to the elders with the news. During a council meeting, a game of Lacrosse
(Tekaarathon) is planned. Ohwa'ri's team plays opposite those who now want to cause him trouble.

Bruchac vividly describes the environment in and around the Mohawk village and their activities. His words jumped off the page into clear, brilliant and colorful pictures in my head. Ohkwa'ri's attentiveness to what is happening shines as the story continues. The energy seemed to jump off the page during the lacrosse game. I felt I was hearing Bruchac's story rather than reading it.

Bruchac does use Mohawk language in the novel, and does give explanation of the words throughout. He also includes a pronunciation guide at the end.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially for a kid (boy or girl) who is interested in sports.

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the two children's books I read today I definitely preferred this one! The words flowed smoothly and the story itself was very captivating. I soon found myself caught up in Ohkwa'ri's life and the trouble he had gotten himself into with a bully. I think it's safe to call Grabber a bully as he certainly wanted to harm Ohkwa'ri. Right from the very beginning I knew he was going to have problems with Grabber and I was right!

The ending was very surprising however...it works great for the story but unfortunately in real life things very rarely actually work that way. Bullies don't change.

One thing I found the most interesting in here was the life and culture of the Mohawks. The map and family tree at the beginning of the book was also very useful! I'm glad the author had thought to include it, otherwise I wouldn't know that the Mohawk was part of the Iroquois Nation. Reading the book also spurred me to go do a few searches on Google to see what the different types of homes looked like, although I have seen ones built here at our Indian Summer festival.

The form of discipline mentioned in the book is very curious. And very different too.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a win for us! I think choosing the audiobook format was a big contributor to our enjoyment because I wasn't stumbling over new-to-me pronunciations (with very different phonetic rules than English!). The narrator was excellent! It got us on a Joseph Bruchac kick, as well as researching other Native American tribes not currently in our Early American history studies. This was a good story that also taught us so much - the best kind of historical fiction!

[Bryan Wolf · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two words: Dumpster fire

This book is... terrible. Awful. Trash. The author should be ashamed he wrote it.
The plot? Imagine your favorite book's plot line as roller coaster. Lots of bumps and high points, then dropping 50 meters, right? If this book's plot line was a roller coaster, it would go up 10 meters then be completely flat for a good 5 minutes, then stop, then go up 2 meters and stop there. The characters are less likable then a teacher who assignes homework every night and weekend, and its message can only be interpreted as "Don't buy Joseph Bruchac books." Don't let the start of this book fool you. You will soon be wondering why Bruchac thought this was at all a good piece of writing and what time you should return it. This is my least favorite book of all time, and I wish that I had never read it. This book is the reason kids aren't reading in our country.

[Charsia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this alongside learning about American history, and how it affected different people in the 'New World.' I got to read this particular book, which gave me a nice insight into how tribes back in the late 15th century would've lived, particularly a Mohawk Village.
It was also a really exciting story, seeing how Ohkwa'ri would respond and react to the enemies he made, when he found out they were planning to raid a nearby village and told the village elders of their plots. (The story takes place after the Great League of Peace was formed.) and seeing how the main characters Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia, two 11 year old twins, who try to do the right thing even when it gets hard, was really amazing to read about.

This book Is a really good insight into Native American culture and I recommend you to check it out!

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been previewing books with indigenous characters for our early US history. My kids (10, 7, 5) tend to be more sensitive, so a lot of the books have been too intense. This is a great introductory book for us!

[Klaudia Poka · Rating 5 out of 5]

It might seem simple and superficial, but the book has beautiful lessons. The connection between people and nature is truly amazing and very important. This book felt like a relaxing walk in a big forest.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one with the kids. They enjoyed the build up to the Tekwaarathon game. I enjoyed the exposure to a life lived among one of the Iroquois Nations.

[Kat Kunz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! I like how Grabber turned out.

[Michele The Bookish Tea Room · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitant to read this book with the kids at first, but they LOVED it! So did I. But they were entranced by the story of Okwari and his sister Otsistia, Native American children of the Bear Clan. This was extremely well-written so that children and adults can appreciate this very exciting historical peak into the lives of Native Americans.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a great deal about the Five Nations of the Iroquois- helpful since I didn’t grow up in WNY.

[Cathy aka The Attached Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great book that teaches a lot about Native American culture. The story is slow and peaceful but picks up at the end with an exciting sporting event. The ending brought tears to my eyes, and I am NOT a sentimental person.

[Andrea Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids really really loved this book. I was afraid they’d find it dry, but not at all. Fun fictional portrait of the Iroquois immediately before contact. Read for our early American History unit.

[Rykki · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I have to admit the plot of this story is a little dry and the story moves slowly, I think this book does a fantastic job at giving a peek into what life may have been like previous to the colonization of America and the impact of the Europeans. It's a pretty decent read and I can't wait to share this one with my kids.

The story doesn't do a whole lot of meandering, and with the threat of war with a neighboring community being so early in the book, one would think the book would be filled with more intrigue or action, but the whole thing is relatively slow. Even when you get to the point of the game, in spite of the action, the story moves slowly and deliberately. This jives well with the patient, deliberate nature the elder characters display in the book, and what they model for the kids in the story, so it's almost a fitting tone and theme. The story in that regard is well crafted in that it delivers a very specific feel, which I think is beautifully done, but it doesn't make for an engaging read or the kind of book you just can't put down.

Because I am the kind of person I am, I'm a big fact checker when it comes to historic fictions for my kids, especially anything we plan to use for homeschooling. I couldn't resist checking much of what was written against what I could find easily on the web. The only thing I found that didn't match facts was the pemmican, given there's never mention of maple sugar, especially not as a preservative, and the use of blueberries in particular seems most commonly referenced as being used for special occasions, but beyond that, the facts held up to digging I did. Overall I'm pretty happy with it in that regard, and I think it's definitely a valuable addition to any homeschooling or educational program that covers the lives of the Native peoples of America, or the world that existed in America prior to the "discovery" in 1492.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

Children of the Longhouse introduces twins Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia, two children of the Mohawk Bear Clan, who live with their family and other members of their clan in a longhouse in what is now upstate New York. The plot mainly focuses on Ohkwa'ri. First, he overhears a group of teenagers from his clan planning to go to war with a neighboring tribe, thus violating a longstanding peace agreement. Then, after he reports the teens' plans to the council, he finds himself in danger of being attacked by them himself during the clan's game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse).

For the purposes of learning about day-to-day life in a longhouse, this book is ideal. Bruchac is very thorough in his descriptions of the longhouse itself, the roles of men and women (and boys and girls) within the longhouse, and the clan as a whole, and even the experience of playing Tekwaarathon. Unfortunately, there is not enough of a plot to keep readers interested. The conflict between Ohkwa'ri and the older boys is established very quickly, but then developed way too slowly. After the threat of war that opens the book, the lacrosse game, though interesting, feels lame by comparison.

I specifically wanted to read a book by Joseph Bruchac, since I have heard such rave reviews about his work, but I have to admit that I was disappointed. I could definitely see using excerpts from this book to illustrate particular aspects of Mohawk living, but it's just too dry to appeal to most kids.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children of the Longhouse
Bruchac, Joseph
The Children of the Longhouse is a mixture of real Native American people living today, and mythology an classic Mohawk characters of the past. It is an engaging story of a young set of twins at the verge of adulthood and how they have to face many small hurtles to achieve their desires. Ohkwa`ri and Otsi:stia are twins that learn that leaning on each other they can overcome many of their problems. Ohkwa`ri is an intelligent boy who learns that if he is patient and does not run head long into things, listens not only to his elders but his older twin sister Otsi:stia he will survive many of his difficulties. The twins biggest problem is Grabber an angry young orphan who see the younger Ohkwa`ri as a rival. Grabber is a determined young man who wants to use his power and influence to gain a reputation. His first plan to invade the Anen:taks` tribe and kill to achieve his glory is thwarted by Ohkwa`ri who tells his elders of the plan. Grabbers many acts of revenge for this averted attack cause problems for the twins. But it is the connections and intelligence of the twins that makes Grabbers life better in the end.

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Native American author tells about the life of a young Indian before the Europeans invaded North America. It describes the first Americans way of life, their houses and their customs. In addition, it talks about the love of a sport that we call lacrosse today. How did the Indians handle conflict with other tribes before Europeans caused so many disruptions? This children's book gives us clues.

Will be used in a course I will be teaching in the fall.

[Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 Update: Still a great peek into another culture, this time with both of my children, ages 12 and 8.

Bruchac's coming of age novel is a fascinating glimpse into Iroquois culture. I read this aloud to my 8 year old, and we both enjoyed reading about events leading up to and culminating in the main character Ohkwa'ri's participation in a large lacrosse game.

[Jennifer Delamarter]

“Children of the Longhouse” is the story of eleven year-old Ohkwa’ri and his twin sister Otsi:stia. The twins are Mohawk, of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). One hot summer day Ohkwa’ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid against a village the Mohawks are at peace with. Uncertain of what to do, he takes what he has heard to Otsi:stia. They both decide to tell the elders about it. When the elders hear of it, they hold a council to correct the young men who had formed this rash plan. From then on, Ohkwa’ri has an enemy in the leader of the young men, Grabber. When the village decides to hold a game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse), Ohkwa’ri is honored with a special role in the game. But Grabber sees an opportunity to use the tumult of the game to take revenge. Will Ohkwa’ri come through Tekwaarathon safely?

“Children of the Longhouse” was written by Joseph Bruchac, a renowned Abenaki author and storyteller. Bruchac uses his extensive knowledge of Native America and his hearing of Mohawk tales to bring us a factual, informative story about Native people before the arrival of Caucasians. I always enjoy reading Bruchac, as I know I can depend on his accuracy and authenticity.

I think the greatest thing about this book is all the cultural facts packed into it. Bruchac weaves so much cultural data into the plot, including information on the leadership of the League of Five Nations, the clan system, arts and crafts, the game of lacrosse, seasonal celebrations and much more.

“As Clan Mother she was one of those who chose the clan’s leaders. Those Good Men, those Roia:ne, would represent the people who made up their village, not only in their councils with the other two clans of the Flint Nation, but also in the great meetings of their League of Five Nations, which took place at Onondaga. There the fifty men – each chosen by a Clan Mother, each chosen to speak for peace, to keep good minds as they spoke – would gather around the central council fire.”

The plot of this book isn’t stellar, but it’s enough to hold one’s attention. I enjoyed it. But again, in my opinion, the book’s biggest draw is all the cultural knowledge it holds woven into it.

[Content Warning: Native culture is very closely interwoven with Native spirituality. It’s pretty much impossible to have an accurate book like this without having a certain degree of Native religion. In this book, the characters often refer to the earth as mother, the sun as elder brother, etc. They mention the Thunder Beings who are said to control storms and Little People who guard stories and take care of strawberries. Animal spirits are said to be able to send sickness to ungrateful hunters, and Ohkwah’ri thanks a tree when he cuts it down. He also talks to his lacrosse stick. Briefly mentioned are people who let jealousy and bad thoughts so overcome their mind that they become witches who would hurt anyone. In my opinion, that’s the scariest part of the book, though, again, it is very brief. Finally, Ohkwa’ri and Otsi:stia get a bat and a flying squirrel painted on their respective foreheads as “medicine” to help them in the Tekwaarathon.]

Although it does have the religion issues that would need to be talked through, if your child is mature enough to sort through that stuff, this book is highly educational. You can learn a lot from it. I recommend it.

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very unique book! I’ve read several books with Native American main characters, but none quite like this one. It came up in an American History course I have been working through for a while, and I’m pretty impressed.

Joseph Bruchac has done something that I consider particularly difficult: He wrote a book about a time period and place most of us these days know little or nothing about. AND he managed to do that without making the characters act like 21st-century children dropped into a 15th-century setting! Ohkwa’ri and Otsi:stia’s story gripped me from just about the first page, and I ended up finishing this book in a day—granted, it isn’t very long, and I did have time that day, but it was good. I felt like this book transported me back to a time period when all the American plains knew was Indian tribes living their lives their own way with their own customs and ways of doing things. I don’t necessarily think everything they did was right, but it was an interesting portrait of a long ago time.

The plot itself was interesting, too. I loved seeing the children grow through the story, and the description of the lacrosse game was fascinating.

If you’re looking for a good, fairly clean book about what life may have looked like for the Indians hundreds of years ago, I’d recommend this book. It’s a good one.

[Saradha Sukavanam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I have read, set around Native American nations. The plot was very simple and it revolved around Ohkwari, a boy from the bear clan of the Mohawk tribe who overhears a group of older kids plotting to attack another tribe. He reports it to his elders and the rest of the story is predictable.

Rather than the main plot, I loved the stories that were shared throughout the book. The stories of animals, stories of Lacrosse (Tekwaarathon) among animals, strawberry picking. They fed their souls with stories and you want to time travel just to sit around the fire and hear them share stories. Having lived in WNY for 10 years, it was nice to read about the tribes from the Niagara and finger lakes region. The names of different characters, Falls a lot, Grabber, Greasy hair, She opens the sky, two ideas, are all intriguing and I am sure kids would love these characters and their unique names and the deep connection that runs between the name and a person's character.

The characters in the story, show a lot of gratitude and reverence to nature around them. Women were treated respect and in leadership roles throughout all decisions made and they appointed leaders for peace keeping among the different tribes. A lot to learn from for the modern day world.

Looking forward to read more of Joseph Bruchac and a must read for upper elementary kids/Middle schoolers who want a glimpse into the Native American life centuries before.

[Heather O'Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of twin 11-year old Mohawk children Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia. Ohkwa'ri is outside one day and he hears some other boys that are a little bit older than him plan a raid on a neighboring tribe. Ohkwa'ri decides that he must tells the leaders of his clan about this, which he does. In doing so, the other boys want revenge on Ohkwa'ri for telling on them. Ohkwa'ri and his sister try to figure out how to make peace with those boys before they hurt Ohkwa'ri.

We read this book as part of our homeschool curriculum to go along with learning about Indigenous People. The story does talk about the life of Indigenous People and the group dynamics. It goes into their game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse) a lot. The other parts of the book is mostly dealing with young kids navigating their way to adulthood. My boys and I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't our favorite. It was kind of slow going and my boys were not asking for me to read this book. The author is a Native author, so that is a plus. There is also a key at the back of the book that sounds out how each non-English word should be pronounced, which was very helpful to me! The book wasn't horrible and if you are trying to have your kids read more Native People books that are entertaining then this book would definitely fit that.

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book! I am really perplexed that it has so many negative reviews.

The book is short at just 140 pages, but the characters are well developed. I love that the main characters are 11 year old boy/girl twins, which really makes this a book in which any child can see themselves. The first half of the book is focused on every day life in a Mohawk longhouse in the late 1400s. Sometimes the information comes in a bit of a forced ways, though someone's memory, but everything is so lovingly and beautifully told that it didn't bother me.

I loved learning about so many aspects of Native culture - their stories and traditions, their religious beliefs, how they see themselves as part of community with each other and the earth, their government, respect for people and property, and the good of the group. Though how the characters act the reader gets a look at what it means to be purposeful, to be slow to speak and quick to listen, to respect others, to take responsibility, and to be part of something bigger.

The pronunciation was a struggle, but I tabbed the guide in the back of the book and referenced it frequently. I am looking forward to teaching this book for school this year.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first read-aloud literature book of the school year for my 9 and 10 year old’s homeschool curriculum, which focuses on US History. Although a little slow at times, the fact that my kiddos (even my reluctant reader) loved it so much increased my enjoyment for the story. We read it one chapter at a time over the course of two weeks, and they were always excited to start reading the next day to see what would happen next. I struggled with quite a bit of the pronunciation but tried my best, and was really glad for the pronunciation guide in the back to help a momma out. It’s full of wonderful storytelling and imagery, while also containing great lessons, especially for the younger kiddos.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children of the Longhouse was read with my nine year old as part of the River of Voices US History curriculum. It started a bit dry and we needed a bit of time to warm to the tale of a young man growing in an Iroquois village in what is today New York State. The boy encounters anger and jealousy from another young man in his village and they come to a dramatic confrontation and conclusion. This story was written in such vivid details and the characters were so realistic and relatable making it seem to be a contemporary account and not set in the 1400’s.

[Summer Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my kids in tandem with our Early American History and study of indigenous peoples. I thought the storytelling was great. The connection between the Mohawk twins Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia was such a sweet storyline to follow, and especially highlights the wisdom of women in the tribe even at a young age. I loved the history intertwined in the story that really brought to life the things we were learning about the Iroquois peace treaty. We especially enjoyed the story arc of Grabber and how things end for him.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've been reading a lot of more recently released books lately and I am so glad this was assigned as part of our Language Arts curriculum. Both my 9 yr old and I enjoyed learning about the life of the Bear Clan and following along Ohkwa'ri as he manages the early transition to being a man. The history & information about the daily lives of the native americans prompted some good discussions as well.

[Jazmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO GOOD! I know it’s a children’s book, but my cousins are younger and have learned so much that I never really learned in school. The book was both entertaining and endearing! I discovered a new world and new stories! I also thoroughly enjoyed the new perspective - this society had many powerful women, whereas most people likely thought it was a male-dominated world. I recommend this book even if you’re an adult!