With the holiday season upon us, the advertisements try to get us to all think big and throw a party and invite the neighbors over. In some neighborhoods, that may be easier to suggest than in some others....

A typical meeting between two Native people for the first time goes something like this:

“What tribe you from?”

“I’m a Blackfeet from Brownin’.”

“Aaahhh, my uncle is from up that way.”

“Oh yeah, he went to Chemawa with my Dad. I pow-wowed with his kids.”...