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 had the feeling I was going to be successful, and I didn't want to be another disappointing Indian.

That's one more thing people don't know about Indians: We love to talk dirty.

How self-centered, how arrogant... Imagine the awesome privilege of living in a society where you get to choose what you eat at each and every meal. When I was a kid, I was a vegetarian and a vegan for long stretches... I was a commodity cheese-atarian.

My parents banned nothing, though the Christian fundamentalists in my tribe held book-and-record burnings every now and again. So, yes, fundamentalist assholes can also be brown-skinned.

If you care about something enough, it’s going to make you cry. But you have to use it. Use your tears. Use your pain. Use your fear. Get mad. Arnold, get mad.

Every movie is a road movie. Every novel is a mystery. Every tortilla chip is sacred.