I think one question I often get asked by kids, which is a very ironic one, is what was it like when Indians were alive or do you know any real Indians or do you have an Indian hat like Chief so-and-so who came through our school last month who was a re‑enactor and not really a Native American? The questions that I really find troubling but I always try to answer them with patience and clarity are those that display a lack of understanding of stereotype, a lack of progress in seeing American Indians as human beings, and a lack of understanding that Native people are still part of the present.
But I will continue answering those questions as long as they are asked, especially when they’re asked by a child whose innocence is the result of a lack of information, not a desire to hurt someone.