diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/bazel/linux_ppc-0.29.1.patch b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/bazel/linux_ppc-0.29.1.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c3ed9ab254
--- /dev/null
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/bazel/linux_ppc-0.29.1.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+From 9c9d27561780bc56d9f0867e325c7421a94ee1cb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: Harsh Bhatia <bhatia4@llnl.gov>
+Date: Tue, 15 Dec 2020 15:56:10 -0800
+Subject: [PATCH] https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/commit/ab62a6e097590dac5ec946ad7a796ea0e8593ae0 
+
+---
+ src/conditions/BUILD | 6 ++++++
+ third_party/BUILD    | 8 ++++++--
+ 2 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
+
+diff --git a/src/conditions/BUILD b/src/conditions/BUILD
+index 2b28e28057..faa41a439d 100644
+--- a/src/conditions/BUILD
++++ b/src/conditions/BUILD
+@@ -10,6 +10,12 @@ filegroup(
+     visibility = ["//src:__pkg__"],
+ )
+ 
++config_setting(
++    name = "linux_ppc",
++    values = {"cpu": "ppc"},
++    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
++)
++
+ config_setting(
+     name = "linux_x86_64",
+     values = {"cpu": "k8"},
+diff --git a/third_party/BUILD b/third_party/BUILD
+index 159006d741..4fcae54c00 100644
+--- a/third_party/BUILD
++++ b/third_party/BUILD
+@@ -523,12 +523,13 @@ UNNECESSARY_DYNAMIC_LIBRARIES = select({
+     "//src/conditions:darwin": "*.so *.dll",
+     "//src/conditions:darwin_x86_64": "*.so *.dll",
+     "//src/conditions:linux_x86_64": "*.jnilib *.dll",
++    "//src/conditions:linux_ppc": "*.so *.jnilib *.dll",
+     # The .so file is an x86 one, so we can just remove it if the CPU is not x86
+     "//src/conditions:arm": "*.so *.jnilib *.dll",
+     "//src/conditions:linux_aarch64": "*.so *.jnilib *.dll",
+     # Play it safe -- better have a big binary than a slow binary
+     # zip -d does require an argument. Supply something bogus.
+-    "//conditions:default": "*.bogusextension",
++    "//conditions:default": "",
+ })
+ 
+ # Remove native libraries that are for a platform different from the one we are
+@@ -537,7 +538,10 @@ genrule(
+     name = "filter_netty_dynamic_libs",
+     srcs = ["netty_tcnative/netty-tcnative-boringssl-static-2.0.24.Final.jar"],
+     outs = ["netty_tcnative/netty-tcnative-filtered.jar"],
+-    cmd = "cp $< $@ && zip -qd $@ " + UNNECESSARY_DYNAMIC_LIBRARIES,
++    cmd = "cp $< $@ && " +
++      # End successfully if there is nothing to be deleted from the archive
++      "if [ -n '" + UNNECESSARY_DYNAMIC_LIBRARIES + "' ]; then " +
++      "zip -qd $@ " + UNNECESSARY_DYNAMIC_LIBRARIES + "; fi",
+ )
+ 
+ java_import(
+-- 
+2.21.0 (Apple Git-122.2)
+
diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/bazel/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/bazel/package.py
index 2ec348240e..6c1380132b 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/bazel/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/bazel/package.py
@@ -108,6 +108,11 @@ class Bazel(Package):
     depends_on('python', type=('build', 'run'))
     depends_on('zip', when='platform=linux', type=('build', 'run'))
 
+    # make work on power9 (2x commits)
+    # https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/commit/5cff4f1edf8b95bf0612791632255852332f72b5
+    # https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/commit/ab62a6e097590dac5ec946ad7a796ea0e8593ae0
+    patch('linux_ppc-0.29.1.patch', when='@0.29.1')
+
     # Pass Spack environment variables to the build
     patch('bazelruleclassprovider-0.25.patch', when='@0.25:')
     patch('bazelruleclassprovider-0.14.patch', when='@0.14:0.24')
@@ -163,6 +168,11 @@ def url_for_version(self, version):
         return url.format(version)
 
     def setup_build_environment(self, env):
+        # fix the broken linking (on power9)
+        # https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/issues/10327
+        env.set('BAZEL_LINKOPTS', '')
+        env.set('BAZEL_LINKLIBS', '-lstdc++')
+
         env.set('EXTRA_BAZEL_ARGS',
                 # Spack's logs don't handle colored output well
                 '--color=no --host_javabase=@local_jdk//:jdk'