“All of these white kids and teachers, who were so suspicious of me when I first arrived, had learned to care about me. Maybe some of them even loved me. And I'd been so suspicious of them. And now I care about a lot of them. And loved a few of them.”

“Walk the midway and hear the carnival barker.Come see the freak named after his deceased father.Come see the prince who wants to abdicate his throne.Come see the son whose name is carved on a gravestone.”

“Sure, we thought the acresThat we tilled were sacred,But how could we have knownThat wheat can haunt like ghosts”

“Last night I missed two free throws which would have won the game against the best team in the state. The farm town high school I play for is nicknamed the "Indians," and I'm probably the only actual Indian ever to play for a team with such a mascot.This morning I pick up the sports page and read the headline: INDIANS LOSE AGAIN.Go ahead and tell me none of this is supposed to hurt me very much.”

“My father was always depressed. When he was home and sober, he was mostly in his room.”

“In high school I dated a white woman. She would come to visit me on the rez. And her dad, who was very racist, didn't like that at all. And he told her one time, 'You shouldn't go on the rez if you're white because Indians have a lot of anger in their heart.'”

“You know, people speak in poetry all the time. They just don't realize it.”

“My wife was the first romantic partner who understood both American and native parts of me - not so much the positive stuff, but the damage.”

“I'm a method writer. In order to write about the emotion, I have to experience it. I get physically tired and exhausted, devoting hours and hours and hours to it.”

“When you read a piece of writing that you admire, send a note of thanks to the author.”

“My father is an amazing man.”