Sherman Alexie’s is recognized for his short stories about Indigenous Nationalism. Indigenous Nationalism is a “kind of ethnic nationalism emphasizing the group’s indigeneity to their homeland”. Much of what he draws or writes are his experiences as an Indigenous American. The character Thomas from Sherman Alexie’s story “ This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona “ is Forgiving of the past bad situations, but he is also understanding he is attentive to people when they talk or tell him something.
Thomas is forgiving and understanding. For instance, Thomas forgives Victor when he apologizes beating him up in the text he says “Oh it was nothing. We were just kids and you were drunk.” Also he says “ Thats all right.”, this dialouge proves