“I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a book culture. That's why I'm trying to make movies. Indians go to movies; Indians own video recorders.” ThinkingTryingBookCultureLiteratureMajorityVideoNativeNative AmericanAmerican LiteratureRecorders Author:Sherman Alexie
“There's this whole notion of being an Indian - the idea that "warrior" is a positive description of us [Indians as native Americans]. When an Indian guy does well, he's a warrior, even now. He could be a computer salesman, but if he does well, he's a warrior. I'm not a pacifist by any measure, but I'm also fully aware that the reasons I might go to war could be very dubious.” IfsWellsDoeIdeasWarReasonWholeMightGuyComputerNotionWarriorIndianNativeDescriptionNative AmericanSalesmanPacifistDubious Author:Sherman Alexie
“Well, as a native, as a colonized people you do live in the in between. The thing is I'm native. But necessarily because I'm a member of the country, I'm also a White American.” PeopleWellsCountryWhiteMembersNative Author:Sherman Alexie
“A lot of native culture has been destroyed. So you already feel lost inside your culture. And then you add up feeling lost and insignificant inside the larger culture. So you end up feeling lost squared. And to never be recognized, to never have any power, you know, other minority communities actually have a lot of economic, cultural power.” KnowsFeelsHas BeensEndsFeelingsCultureLostCommunityEconomicAddDestroyedNativeMinoritiesInsignificantFeeling Lost Author:Sherman Alexie
“I am extremely conscious of my tribalism. And when you talk about tribalism, you talk about living in a black and white world. I mean, Native American tribalism sovereignty, even the political fight for sovereignty and cultural sovereignty is a very us versus them. And I think a lot of people in this country, especially European Americans and those descended from Europeans don't see themselves as tribal.” PeopleThinkingWorldMeanCountryPoliticalFightingBlackWhiteConsciousNativeBlack And WhiteNative AmericanSovereigntyVersusTribalism Author:Sherman Alexie
“Sixty percent of all Indians live in urban areas, but nobody's writing about them. They're really an underrepresented population, and the ironic thing is very, very few of those we call Native American writers actually grew up on reservations, and yet most of their work is about reservations.” WritingGrewGrew UpPercentAreasPopulationIndianNativeIronicNative AmericanSixtyUrbanReservationsAmerican WriterUrban AreasIronic Things Author:Sherman Alexie
“My wife was the first romantic partner who understood both American and native parts of me - not so much the positive stuff, but the damage.” FirstsStuffWifePositiveUnderstoodMy WifePartnersDamageNativeDamage Is Done Author:Sherman Alexie
“All I try to do is portray Indians as we are, in creative ways. With imagination and poetry. I think a lot of Native American literature is stuck in one idea: sort of spiritual, environmentalist Indians. And I want to portray everyday lives. I think by doing that, by portraying the ordinary lives of Indians, perhaps people learn something new.” PeopleThinkingWayWantTryingIdeasSpiritualLiteratureImaginationCreativeOrdinaryEverydayStuckIndianNativeSomething NewNative AmericanEveryday LifeOrdinary LifeAmerican IndianEnvironmentalistAmerican LiteraturePortrayingSpiritual Indian Author:Sherman Alexie
“There have been players with Indian heritage, but there hasn't been a Native-American professional basketball player who became a regular for all sorts of social and political reasons.” InspirationalHas BeensReasonPoliticalSocialPlayerBasketballIndianNativeHeritageNative AmericanBasketball Player Author:Sherman Alexie
“I've come to the point in my life where I encourage young Native Americans to become much more selfish about their personal needs and wants.” WantNeedsYoungSelfishNativeNative AmericanNeeds And WantsPersonal Needs Author:Sherman Alexie
