Indian giver is an offensive term, it is first seen in the mid-1800s in North. He is a member of the Alaskan Ahtna tribe"- Provided by publisher. An Indian giver is someone who gives a gift and then demands its return. John Smelcer has written over forty books of poetry and prose. It's what we call ourselves."AFTER A SERMON AT THE CHURCH OF INFINITE CONFUSIONAt ten, Mary Caught-in-Between came home from sunday school, told every animal and bird and fish they couldn't talk anymore, told her drum it couldn't sing anymore, told her feet they couldn't dance anymore, told her words they weren't words anymore, told Raven and Coyote they weren't gods anymore, said god was a starving white man with long hair and blue eyes and a beard who no one loved enough to save when they nailed him to a totem pole. The confusion of children whose religion is forbidden the ironic poverty of a lottery winner an alternate American history in which Columbus turns and sails away-in deceptively simple language, we hear the protest of survivors. When Native Americans gave a gift to someone and it was not used, then it was viewed as disrespectful, and the item was then immediately taken back. White settlers didn’t totally understand how gift-giving worked among Native Americans, who viewed the practice as almost sacred. A tremendous book."-Seamus Heaney"Few voices in American literature are so honest and daring."-Mark Strand"One of our most brilliant poets."-Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz"I feel the primal grain and temper of the genuine here."-William Heyen"A lament, a protest, an inextinguishable song."-Sherod Santos"Among the best and most original poets in America."-Stanley Kunitz"Nothing short of splendid."-Robert Nazarene"The kind of energy found in the poems of William Carlos Williams and Gary Snyder."-Joseph BruchacThese poems tell harsh truths of hopelessness and genocide. Indian giver : poems / John Smelcer forewords by Ruth Stone, Diane Wakoski & X.J. Indian giver was born out of a cultural misunderstanding. Summary ""Poetry at its most satirical and courageous. Under Secretary for Science and Research.Under Secretary for Museums and Culture.Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs.Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art.