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EwelinaBańka
JohnPaulIIUniversityofLublin
SHERMANALEXIE’SREPORT
FROMAMERICANINDIAN“UR;ANATION”
AmericanIndianshavebeeninurbanareasmuchlonger
thanthemainstreamsocietyrealizes,andtheyarethriving
basedonnewvaluesthatverymuchresembletraditional
ways.
DonaldL.Fixico,AmericanIndiansandtheUrbanExperience
EversincetheCivilRightsMovementofthe1960sadvancedethnicmi-
norities,NativeAmericanliteraturehasgreatlyenrichedtheAmericanliter-
arycanon.ThefirstwaveofNativeAmericanwritersdevotedtheirworks
primarilytothethemeofIndianstruggletochoosebetweenthewhiteman’s
worldandthereservationperceivedashomelandandasthefinalplaceof
one’sidentityquest.Formanyyearsreservationexperienceremainedthefo-
calthemeofAmericanIndianliterature,despitethefactthatIndianpeople
havebeensystematicallymovingintourbanareaseversincethetimeofthe
firstrelocation.Thehistoryoftheseless-known,urbanAmericanIndians
hasrecentlygainedtheatentionitdeserves.Withinthepasttenyears,sev-
eralNativeAmericanwritershavedevotedtheirworksoffictionandnon-
fictiontotheportrayalandanalysisofAmericanIndianurbanexperience.
Mostofthesebooksareanatempttounderstandandexplainthereasons
whysomanyNativeAmericansdecidetomakethecitytheirhome.
Recentfictionbyayoungergenerationwriter,Spokane/Coeurd’Alene
IndianShermanAlexie,exploresthethemeofurbanIndianlifeandcasts
anewlightonurbanAmericaasIndiancountry.Alexie’sfocusisonthesec-
ondandthethirdgenerationsoftherelocatedIndianpeopleandonhowthe
urbansetinginfluencestheirsenseofidentity.Alexiedemonstrateshow,
overthecourseofyears,urbanIndianpeople,gatheringinplacessuchas