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EwelinaBańka
newcircumstancesoftheurbanseting,isrethinkingandreinterpreting
ancienttraditionsandconstruingthemeaningofIndianness.Atthesame
time,AlexieiswellawareofthefactthattherearemoreandmoreIndian
citydwellerswhograduallylosecontactwiththeirreservationroots,and
whoconsciouslyabandontraditionsthussinkingintotheAmericanHmelt-
ingpot,”andthatawholegenerationofurbanIndianshasemergedfor
whomreservationlifeandtribaltraditionsareonlyoldsuperstitions,for
whichthereisnoplaceinmodernurbanreality.
Alexie’sfictionalsoprovesthat,despiteusingthelanguageofthedom-
inantculture,modernNativeAmericanstorytellersretainlinkswithold
Indiantraditions,celebratingcontemporaryIndianvalues.AsCarolMiller
putsit:
Inadditiontoprovidingsignificantinformationaboutaconsequential
andongoingNativeAmericandiasporaessentiallyignoredbymain-
streamwhitesociety,narrativesabouturbanAmericaasIndiancountry
alsoreinforcethelinkbetweencontemporaryandancestralstorytell-
ingtraditions.Andindoingso,theyprovideanimportantmedium
notonlyforsustainingculturebutforcreatingasignificantillustrative
resourceaboutthepragmaticbusinessofHgoingalong”intheworld,
justastheoldstoriesalwayshavedone.Imaginativeprint-language
Htellings”thatexploreintersectionsofIndiannessandurbanization
sharetheseriousfunctionalityoftraditionalNativestorytelling,and
functionalitymadeevenmoreimportantbecauseoffivehundredyears
ofdisruptions.18
Thankstotherisingnumberofwritersandsociologistswhoexploreand
reportoncontemporaryurbanIndianexperience,urbanIndiansarebecom-
inganincreasinglypowerfulgroup.Inthefictionofsuchleadingauthors
asShermanAlexie,thereadercanwitnesstheprocessofAmericanIndians’
successfulacclimatizationintheurbanseting.Thisprocess,asCarolMiller
suggests,canbecalledaH(re)taking[of]place”byurbanNativeAmericans
inthecity—Hadoublebreakingout—bothfromfederallydesignatedbound-
arieshistoricallyintendedtoisolateandcontainNativepeopleandfroman
equallypervasiveconfinementwithintheanachronisticfantasy-wilderness
ofthewhiteimagination.”19InhisrecentfictionShermanAlexieshowshow
incontemporaryAmericaNativeAmericanpeoplecelebratetheirethnicity
Hthroughremembrance,adaptation,andrecreation.”20
18Miller,HTellingtheUrbanIndian,”p.30.
19Miller,HTellingtheUrbanIndian,”p.29.
20PatriciaRiley,HTheMixedBloodWriterasInterpreterandMythmaker,”in:Mixed
RaceLiterature,ed.JonathanBrennan(Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress,2002),p.67.