Native American Moyers guest: 'Indians have no cultural power'

In a preview clip from this weekend's "Moyers and Company", Native American author Sherman Alexie discussed how it feels to be born in the United States, but not of it.

The Blasphemy author talked about the curious sense of cultural dislocation that comes from being an alien in one's own culture, a struggle that he feels keenly when it comes to discussions of stereotypes like the ones portrayed in the "Indian" mascots of athletic teams.

“At least half the country thinks the mascot issue is insignificant. But I think it’s indicative of the ways in which Indians have no cultural power," he said. "We’re still placed in the past. So we’re either in the past or we’re only viewed through casinos."

The exemption of Native Americans from many discussions of civil rights can give a person a feeling of being "lost and insignificant inside the larger culture."

Watch a clip from the interview, embedded below via "Moyers and Company":