Recently, American Indian poet and author Sherman Alexie has been recently in the news: he's cancelled his book tour, including a talk set to happen at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center September 8th.
Alexie is also recently said in an interview with NPR's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air: "I kept making the joke about being 'Indian du jour, and it's been a very long day... I really hope that like 10 or 12 Native writers, fiction writers, non-fiction writers, really launch into the national consciousness, so I don't have to answer all the questions, so I don't have to get invited to all the conferences. Share the burden of being a public figure Indian! Come on, people! Hurry up, finish your books!"
Today on Morning Line, we heard from an up and coming author who has answered that challenge with a book of his own:
Sitting at their Feet: Gookwaii eeghai Dhidii, A Young Gwich'in Athabascan's Memoir
Matthew Gilbert is the first to say it - the thirty-something scholar is pretty young to have a memoir. Gilbert says he's had a lot of experiences packed into his life, however, from taking charge and choosing his educational path in high school, to traveling across Indian Country to see what issues reservation dwellers have in common with his tribe in Arctic Village.
Gilbert says the book took about six years to write and spans part of his graduate school career.
To see a preview of the book, check it out on amazon.com, the only place it is available just yet, unless you happen to meet up with the author. Gilbert says he's brought copies to various tribal gathering and has sold every copy he had with him.
