The townspeople outside the reservations had a very superior attitude toward Indians, which was kind of funny, because they weren`t very wealthy; they were on the fringes of society themselves.
The title of the poems was The Only Bar in Dixon. We sent it out to The New Yorker on a fluke, and they took them and printed all three in the same issue.
The economic piece is still missing, since it`s so hard to attract industry to reservations, but spiritually and educationally, they`re doing just fine. Each tribe has a community college now, and they teach the language, they teach the traditions.
Richard Hugo taught me that anyone with a desire to write, an ear for language and a bit of imagination could become a writer. He also, in a way, gave me permission to write about northern Montana.
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To receive this award from an organization I admire so much makes me totally happy and grateful.
