Quotes About Community

Exoticism was hard to find in Pullman, Washington.

She's the Sandwhich Lady. Excuse me? She delivers sandwiches to the homeless. Really. I can't imagine her in such a role. What do you mean? Well, she always seems so impulsive, so emotional. What's the word I'm searching for? So individualistic. Not tribal at all...

Well, in the early days of humans, the community was our only protection against predators, and against the starvation. We survived because we trusted one another.

Junior talks about it—relating to dozens if not hundreds of tribes. Even as the world tries to define you, narrow the definition of you, don't do it to yourself. True

Mostly, I just think Mr. P is a lonely old man who used to be a lonely young man. And for some reason I don't understand, lonely white people love to hang around lonelier Indians.

We continue Lovingly Despite The crimes Committed Against any And all Of us.

Perhaps everybody, indigenous and not, lives on their own kind of reservation.

If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing. —

Everybody prayed; everybody lied about it. Even atheists prayed on airplanes and bingo nights.

So, back in the day, weird people threatened the strength of the tribe. If you weren't good for making food, shelter, or babies, then you were tossed out on your own." "But we're not primitive like that anymore." "Oh, yes, we are. Weird people still get banished." "You mean weird people like

Jeez, how stupid was I? What kind of job can a reservation Indian boy get? I was too young to deal blackjack at the casino, there were only about fifteen green grass lawns on the reservation (and none of their owners outsourced the mowing jobs), and the only paper route was owned by a tribal elder named Wally. And he had to deliver only fifty papers, so his job was more like a hobby.

The people at home," I said. "A lot of them call me an apple." "Do they think you're a fruit or something?" he asked. "No, no," I said. "They call me an apple because they think I'm red on the outside and white on the inside." "Ah, so they think you're a traitor

Seymour looked around the Tucson McDonald's. There were white people and Mavajos; there were people who preferred their Quarter Pounders with cheese and those who didn't care for cheese at all; and there were those who desperately wish that McDonald's would introduce onion rings to its menu.

I really miss those cafeterias they use to have in Kmart. I don't know why they stopped having those. If there is a Heaven then I firmly believe it's a Kmart cafeteria.

After all, one doesn't choose his culture nearly as much as one trips and falls into it.

Why don't you call somebody with the Coeur d'Alene tribe? A historian or somebody? Or be really crazy and ask one of our cousins what they know." "I can't," I said. "I'm too embarrassed to let them know how much I don't know." "They're sure gonna

Imagine a story that puts wood in the fireplace.

Well, you should be more careful where you drive," the officer said. "You're making people nervous. You don't fit the profile of the neighborhood." I wanted to tell him that I didn't really fit the profile of the country but I knew it would just get me into trouble.

I wonder why no one called the police about the rocket launcher? God knows my neighbors usually report it if I so much as fart in my backyard. (Bubba)

Baby, I ain't trash. Trash is something you throw away. My people keep me.

Yeah, well, I guess I feel like all of us misfits need to hang together. At least that way we don't swing along. (Tabitha)

Every life, no matter how isolated, touches hundred of others. It's up to us to decide if those micro connections are positive or negative. But whichever we decide, it does impact the ones we deal with.

We're always alone. You can be in a crowded room and still feel the bite of loneliness. Personally, I find that it bites deepest whenever others are around.

When a cow lives with the butcher, sooner or later he gets eaten unless he helps the other cows off to their slaughter. (Nick)