The great mistake these people make is that they go to looking after the spiritual welfare of the Indians before securing their physical.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Indians love to reduce the prosaic to the mystic.
Before, Indian people had been so defeated, they were always looking for outsiders, for the government, to somehow come in and fix things. But now, they seem to realize that they're the only ones who can save themselves.
Some of you think an Indian is like a wild animal. This is a great mistake.
I don't like this romanticization of Indian people in which Indian people are looked at as spiritual saviors, as people who have always taken care of the land. We're human beings. But I think different cultures have developed different aspects of humanness.
Nobody would take checks from Indians, nobody would give them any credit, and nobody would let them drink in the bars. There was a rudeness, a brusqueness, with which the Indians were treated constantly. At a very young age, that had entered my consciousness.
Whatever their reasons, Hollywood, or the entertainment industry, is saying something about Indians. I don't see the rest of the media knocking down any doors to do that.
To achieve important things, we have to sacrifice what's important to us. That's an idea that's very central to Indian thinking.
What strikes me every single time is that the aspirations of Indians are unique and unparalleled. They're very demanding, regardless of background.
In a lot of Indian societies, spirituality has been lost, I think it's still the best way of looking at the world for Indians - better than any organized religion in this country.
I thought I was benefiting the Indians as well as the government, by taking them all over the United States, and giving them a correct idea of the customs, life, etc., of the pale faces, so that when they returned to their people they could make known all they had seen.