Folk and Literary Reflections on the Culture of Northwest Coast Indians of the Puget Sound Area of North America

• Main Author: Botiková Marta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2019-06-01
• Series: Ethnologia Actualis
• Subjects: folk and literary tradition; storytelling; storytelling opportunities; trickster
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2478/eas-2019-0013

Vi Hilbert, collector, performer and activist who worked with the folklore material of the northwestern region, has found somebody to follow in her footsteps in the promotion of the local culture and literature. This somebody is Sherman Alexie, a writer, publicist, poet and scriptwriter who has published around 30 books to date. Like Vi Hilbert, Sherman Alexie, who is three generations younger, proclaims his Native American heritage. He represents it and helps other readers and interested people understand, or join the path towards building this identity. His texts are characterised by a humorous distance as well as an excellent gift of observation. Alexie is one of the most significant figures of the literature of the indigenous Americans and is a textbook example of a new type of narration, which has deep roots in this region and is nurtured. His early works were a great surprise at the time of their publication, both for readers from the Native American community and other Americans. From an ethnological point of view, they are not only a factual source of knowledge, but also provide a perspective for evaluating the culture emically.