Introduction: Now is the Time of the Postindian

“It is time to change the dialogue about Indians,” says Elizabeth Cook Lynn in an interview. The writer, poet, scholar, educator and journal editor, Lynn, continues: “We are not just warriors, we are not just victims of massacre, we are not just drunks in the street, we are not just Americans, we are Indian Americans, Native Americans” (Lynn 2013). She states that there are many stereotypes about Indians, but that these should change because Indians have made great progress, and accomplished a great deal, over the centuries. There are Native American scholars, writers, lawyers and doctors. Specifically, Lynn mentions Charles Eastman who was a physician and the only doctor at Wounded Knee. She also notes Black Elk, a man of philosophy and religion; the painter Oscar Howe, whose works hang in embassies all over the world; and Vine Deloria, Jr., who has written over thirty books on Native American Studies, law, politics, and history.

Keywords:

American Literature, American Culture and Literature, American Culture, Cultural Studies Native Americans,

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