Holding the sweat is a way for Gabe and Cass to try to be a more respectable part of their community, though they know that they are primarily serving as an example of who not to be for Nathan Yellow Tail. Still, the desire to be “Good Indians” colors their behavior and self-concept: Lewis fears that abandoning the reservation and marrying a white woman has disgraced his ancestors and furthered the diminishment of the tribe’s bloodline Gabe’s struggles with alcohol, violent outbursts, and being a bad father linger in him Cass is finally settling down, but fears what others think since he is dating a Crow woman, a tribe that was rivals and sometimes outright enemies with the Blackfeet.

For horror fans, there is a lot to like in its pages: haunted houses, breaching of cultural taboos, spectacular but rarely overdone gore, hybrid monsters, and an ever-present deniability of the supernatural. As such, they freely use the term “Indian” to describe themselves or their practices, knowing full well its racist origins and deploying it with a sense of irony: They understand the tension between the authenticity of their tribal customs and their own half-considered version of it that often resembles play-acting. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones 4.1 (95) Hardcover 26.99 Hardcover 26.99 Paperback 14.99 eBook 12.99 Audiobook 0.00 Large Print 33.99 View All Available Formats & Editions Premium Members save an additional 10 and earn stamps to save even more. The Only Good Indians(2020), Stephen Graham Jones’s latest novel, often feels weighed down by a distant, but strong, tradition. Minute Listen 0:00 - Nicole Ransome Note: Text has been edited and may not match audio exactly. The three main adult characters in the novel-Lewis, Gabe, and Cass-each struggle with their ancestral heritage and their role in Blackfoot culture, which they typically treat with ironic distance or outright mockery of the rules and customs of their culture as a way of coping with the cultural burden. The Only Good Indians Are Not What You Think They Are Bram Stoker Award-winning author Stephen Graham Jones spins a horror story that is as stunning as it is macabre while pushing the boundaries on what it means to be an American Indian today.

Only the good indians