A different take on Indians

Choosing materials from ethnic groups different from our own is a difficult and sensitive task for many librarians. Professional journals often run articles about the faults of presentations in children's books of racial, religious and ethnic groups. We turn with relief to writers who spring from the culture they write about or make films about, but still we worry. It's refreshing to read a frank interview with Sherman Alexie in the N.Y. Times. Mr. Alexie, author of the hugely popular book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian talks, among other things, of the ways in which tribal culture has changed over the years, the effects of pop culture on his life, and his passion for basketball, a most un-Indian sport. It's important for children and teenagers today to learn about the Indian way of life both on and off the reservation, and that means allowing some of the idealization of tradition to fade away. Alexie has been criticized for portraying misery and failures in life on the res, but young people have to learn to live with truth. We owe a debt of gratitude to Sherman Alexie for bringing realism, as well as humor, into his portrayal of growing up Indian. We must trust youngsters to sort the good from the bad and develop a healthy respect for cultures different from their own.