Jay Silverheels was born Harold Smith. A Mohawk Indian and a tremendous athlete. Most of his early career was playing the standard Indian/stuntman, fitting the profile as it were. Only during his stardom as Tonto, did he gain any notoriety. He became the ideal Indian. I always played Tonto when when I was a kid. Mainly because I was the one with the homemade bow and the dark hair. My cousin wore the mask. Neither one of us had horses, just bicycles and miles of mountain trails and logging roads.
In the title story Alexie tells of having a fight with his (white) girlfriend and deciding to drive off and blow off some steam. He ends up in a upscale neighborhood where he is promptly checked up on by the police. They claim he doesn't "fit the profile" of the neighborhood and that folks were nervous. It seems that most of these stories are just that, not fitting the profile. He makes connections only with other people who don't fit the profile like the 7-11 clerk. He states it best by quoting an Indian poet who says Indians can reside in the city but they can't live there. The whole chapter is essentially about not fitting the profile. Alexie in Seattle, the white kid basketball player, him and his white girlfriend, the job at the student exchange.
As an older student, I don't fit the profile of UNCA. I'm cool with that. In most ways my life experience gives me an edge in my learning process. Alexie and I are almost exactly the same age. His humor and mine are similar, he has a passion for basketball while I like football. Both of us are writers. The big difference is that I "fit the profile" and yet he has taken is adversity and turned it into an asset.
I'm still probably better shooting a bow from a bicycle though.
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