Quotes from Sherman Alexie

Oh, no, no, you've got that all wrong. You're not required to respect elders. After all, most people are idiots, regardless of age. In tribal cultures, we just make sure that elders remain an active part of the culture, even if they're idiots. Especially if they're idiots. You can't just abandon your old people, even if they have nothing intelligent to say. Even if they're crazy.

I measure men by the content of their character, not the color of their skin, and I find all of them are assholes.

She went searching for her dreams, and she didn't find them, but she made the attempt.

It's just me and James walking and walking except he's on my back and his eyes are looking past the people who are looking past us for the coyote of our soul and the wolverine of our heart and the crazy crazy man that touches every Indian who spends too much time alone.

Mary was a bright and shining star," Mr. P said. "And then she faded year by year until you could barely see her anymore.

F]rank knew he was guilty of arrogance and misanthropy, but he compensated by being kind to strangers and tipping really well at restaurants.

There's never enough time to change your life. You don't get to change your life, period.

I always think it's funny when Indians celebrate Thanksgiving. I mean, sure, the Indians and Pilgrims were best friends during that first Thanksgiving, but a few years later, the Pilgrims were shooting Indians. So I'm never quite sure why we eat turkey like everybody else. "Hey, Dad," I said. "What do Indians have to be so thankful for?" "We should give thanks that they didn't kill all of us.

One play can change your momentum forever.

So I guess you were hopelessly romantic and easily distracted, a B-plus mother, certainly good enough to get into Matriarchal State University but not quite good enough for St. Mary's College of the Blessed Womb Warriors.

I'm a freak with power.

If human beings possessed endless possibilities, then cities contained exponential hopes.

She shook my hand, loosely, like Indians do, using only her fingers. Not like those tight grips that white people use to prove something. She touched my hand like she was glad to see me, not like she wanted to break bones.

So Lightning says to Mud, "What would happen if I struck your blood?" And Mud says, "Brother, It would hurt, And make me the mother Of every living thing. But, Fire Boy, you ain't lifting my grass skirt Until you burn me a ring.

My memory is strange that way. I often remember people I've never met and events and places I've never seen. I don't think I'm some mystical bastard. I just think I pay attention to the details.

Father Arnold finished the ceremony and asked if anybody had any final words for the dearly departed. Final words? Chess asked, I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop talking about this.

Late one day James and I watch the sun fly across the sky like a basketball on fire until it falls down completely and lands in Benjamin Lake with a splash and shakes the ground and even wakes up Lester FallsApart who thought it was his father come back to slap his face again.

The white people always want to fight someone and they always get the dark-skinned people to do the fighting.

What's so funny?' asked Peone. 'Catholic cops are funny,' said Lester. 'You were listening?' 'Yeah.' 'Yeah? Catholic Indians are funny.' 'There's lots of Catholic Indians.' 'There's lots of Catholic cops.

Things had gotten so intense, so painful, that my body just checked out. Yep, my mind and soul and heart had a quick meeting and voted to shut down for a few repairs.

She'd wanted to completely shave her head: I don't want long hair, I don't want short hair, I don't want hair at all, and I don't want to be a girl or a boy, I want to be a yellow and orange leaf some little kid picks up and pastes in his scrapbook.

And the tombstone will never answer. Because the dead have only the voices we give to them.

Reardan is the rich white farm town that sits in the wheat fields exactly 22 miles away from the Rez. And it's a hick town I suppose filled with farmers and rednecks and racists cops who stop every Indian that drives through. During one week when I was little dad got stopped three times for DWI- Driving While Indian.

My grandmother's last act on earth was a call for forgiveness, love, and tolerance.