By Tulane Public Relations (Sherman Alexie-4 Uploaded by AlbertHerring) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Just a matter of weeks after I finished reading about and discussing the scarcity of Native American writers, I caught wind of some disheartening news concerning Sherman Alexie, who is one of the most well-known and prolific Native American authors of our time.

Being an ambassador for the Generation Indigenous National Native Youth Network and a contributing writer for Natives In America, I have many platonic Facebook friends from across Indian Country. It was through several Facebook posts referencing the current conversation on Alexie that I figured out something was up. Shortly thereafter, I came across this letter by Debbie Reese, the Editor of the blog American Indians in Children’s Literature. After clicking on some hyperlinks included in the Reese’s letter, I stumbled upon this Twitter thread, which helps put the conversation about Sherman Alexie’s apparent sexual harassment into more context.

In short, Sherman Alexie is facing accusations from women, many of which appear to be making their claims anonymously, that he has sexually harassed them. And, evidently, some claim that he has gone so far as to threaten to undermine the careers of female Native writers who dared to speak up about his harassment of them.

National Public Radio released this article detailing his accusers’ testimonies today. Teaching Tolerance, a website offering free materials to educators to supplement their classroom instruction and create inclusive school communities, published a post detailing a teacher’s reasons for pulling Alexie’s young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, from her curriculum.

Having just finished reading that book not that long ago (along with once having considered writing Alexie fan mail) – as an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, a literary scholar, and a writer – I am perplexed, outraged, and disappointed beyond words to even think that the truth of these accusations could even be a remote possibility. As we discussed in class, he is (or was) one of the most celebrated writers of Indian Country. What we have here is a case where many people are choosing to respond through censorship.

As far as my own personal opinions about the censorship of Sherman Alexie go, I will say about it is that I have struggled with thinking about the ethics of it. While I have found myself believing that I wouldn’t censor myself from literature that has held so much value to so many people, it is disheartening to think about supporting the bank account of someone who has so many shocking and repulsive accusations about his behavior towards Indigenous women pinned on him – and thinking that I could have been among the pool of victims myself. That said, someone did point out that my university has several copies of Mein Kampf on their shelves and that there is still a historical value to studying his writing. I am certainly not equating Alexie to Hitler here. My point is that we can find certain writers to be absolutely horrid in character, but there is still a value to studying their literature. Though, from my personal observations, that often tends to happen when they have passed on. I could check Alexie out from a library, but how much would I be supporting him? And how much would that matter considering that I also feel it is important for me to study Indigenous authors?

As I grapple with these questions, I look to other Indigenous authors. I have found lists upon lists of other authors from across Indian Country who I have never heard of before. So perhaps the silver lining is that I have found myself pushing myself to explore the realm of Indigenous writers more broadly than I ever have before. And I would strongly encourage others to do so as they make their own decisions about what to do with Sherman Alexie. While I am not entirely sure how to handle the matter of my own possible self-censorship, I do think that it may be time that we pass the limelight to other Indigenous writers who are producing incredible works of literature. And I pray we see far more than just one token Indian leading other rising Indigenous authors into a Native literary renaissance.