People have different skin colors, hair colors, religions, favorite foods, parents. Nature provided the variety, people made the initial separations. Cultures were created by those similar to each other grouping together. Some people identify with their own culture, some don't like to acknowledge the concept all together, while others like to consider themselves an entirely different tribe than their heritage insists. Contemporary literature has shed light on the relationship between white men and there superiority complex in regard to other ethnic groups. Sherman Alexie paints a realistic picture of the life of the modern American Indian. He shows the inability to forget one's ancestry. He allows the reader who is ignorant to the troubles of the Indian to feel compassion and in many ways relate to the characters. This is possible because there are race issues other than those discussed in these stories. Everyone has been asked to trace their roots and everyone can point out someone of Chinese descent in relation to someone of African descent. Whether for good or for bad, race exists, and it affects every aspect of life, from love to sports to religion; race is very much a part of us.
Every culture has its religion, and for many people, it is the deciding factor in beliefs and relationships with their families and even strangers. Faith is what keeps those people going, and is also their guideline for morality. In Indian Country, Sid Polatkin was so obsessed with his daughter's sins that he fails to take her happiness into consideration. "I love my daughter, and I don't want her to go to hell." P.145 Sara taunted her Indian father with choice of partner in both race and gender by loving Tracy, a white woman. Sid tried to convince the outsider, Low Man, that lesbian marriage was wrong. But he took the side of his friend, Tracy and her lover. When asked the simple question of what he thought about Jesus, Low Man replies in a very vaguely.
