Tony Hillerman Quotes

There must be in their [the Indian's] social bond, something singularly captivating, and far superior to anything to be boasted among us; for thousands of Europeans are Indians, and we have no examples of even one of those Aborigines having from choice become Europeans.

When people ask me where my roots are, I look down at my feet, and I see the roots of my soul grasping the earth. They are here... in the Southwest... I still live in New Mexico.

You can have more than one home. You can carry your roots with you, and decide where they grow.

In many immigrant families, the parents are just talking and talking about the home country until the children are like, 'Oh, don't tell us any more.'

Every year, I travel extensively in the autumn and the spring. I set most of the winter and summer aside for my family and my own tribal relatives. But during that traveling time, I often find myself visiting other native communities around the continent - perhaps a dozen or more each year.

My thinking is that if we're going to take from a culture, let's take from a culture that has exemplified success for thousands of years.

Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.

I love the French very much, and I think they know that. I've been adopted here. They treat me as one of their own.

Black culture is something I don't relate to much at all.

We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help people to understand the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose your own culture.

People have to identify with their own stories, with their own lives, so a movie belongs to a country and to a culture. Sometimes we can share, but it's very rare.

Many young Japanese were hearing for the first time the words of Native people from the West.

I have the greatest respect for Aborigine people, to whom I owe everything. The time I spent with members of the Pijantjatjara and Pintupi tribes in Australia was a transformative experience for me and one that has deeply and indelibly informed my entire life and art.

I think the best thing I can say about it - and I think the best thing you can say about anything, really - is that 'The Motorcycle Diaries' made me feel like my home was bigger; it made me feel at home anywhere in Latin America.

Some things are really sacred and important to other cultures, so you have to be aware, politically, about those things before you just adopt them.

Other people's traditions look charming and decorative and exotic. They're nice places to visit on holiday, but you wouldn't want to live with one.

For so long, Arab culture has been misconceived by the western mindset as exotic, or more recently, as dangerous, so spaces like Mathaf are vital for asserting a sense of connectedness.

It is really important for me to help my culture.

I don't think the American government has a lot of respect for culture.

We cannot abandon this rabbit hole for fear of a traumatic encounter with our own culture.

I would rather know about different cultures, read about them, and understand them than just blindly follow their rituals. All cultures in India have their own logic.

I am not the sort of person who divests myself of everything that came before I came to Australia. I want to take all the knowledge and experiences I gained when I was in England and put it at the service of Australia because I have to bring something to Australia - not just money but myself.

I'm an adopted Mancunian. This city has grown on me. I have a wife from Manchester and have three kids who think they are more Mancuniuan than anything else, which is a problem I need to address!

Culture should be shared, not hoarded.

The English are very exotic to me.