Reservation Realism

It is amazing ow some people have the ability to coin words or terms that have the capacity to stick. Sherman Alexi's "reservation realism" is just that, a term that was created to encompass something that before could not not be named. For those of us who did not grow up in a reservation, which I am going to go ahead and assume that means all of us, reservation realism is something so different it takes an entire novel to understand, and even then there is no guaranty. So as I read I attempted to define this curious term, which I do not claim to have done perfectly, but nevertheless am going to try to articulate. So in the course of my education I have found that I am to discern between objective and subjective ideas. One of the traits I noticed about reservation realism is that these two concepts are both accepted as truths. Since there is no division between subjectivity and objectivity one can understand how oral tradition is more important then a western perception of factual accounts.
In "Every Little Hurricane" Alexie makes the statement "When the hurricane descended upon the nation in 1976, Victor was there to record it. If the video camera had been available then, Victor might have filmed it, but his memory was much more dependable" (Alexie 7). The idea that Victor's memory is more dependable speaks towards the nature of subjectivity. The camera could not have captured the emotions, the way the tears felt on Victor's skin or the love that went into his uncle's punches. The focus on perception is important to the culture, and reservation realism.
Alexie also speaks towards the importance of tradition. With three young boys tripping out by a lake, one finds it relevant to talk about the ideal. That is the traditional values of the culture, visions, the culture before alcohol and communing around a fire. When the other two boys are skeptical about this and asks Thomas, the speaker, "You don't really believe that shit?" Thomas responds "Don't need to believe anything. It just is."(Alexie 21). The idea that the culture, though diminished, is ever present, and Thomas doesn't need to buy into the idea because it simply exists, is another trait of Alexi's reservation realism.
A third trait of this curious term is the idea of love in hate. I was once told by a professor at UNCA that the mark of intelligence is the ability to hold two conflicting ideas in your head and still walk and be able to chew gum. Thought the comment was very tongue in cheek there is truth in this, a truth that can be found in reservation realism. "He could see his uncles slugging each other with such force that they had to be in love. Strangers would never want to hurt each other that badly." (Alexi 2). Whereas at least I was raised to see acts of aggression for the most part separate from love, Alexie explains how the two are intertwined, and further illuminates the complex nature that is reservation realism.
So these are only things I have found so far that I feel apply to reservation realism, as the week progresses I will ad more and would love to have feedback so I can see where I might need to redact certain parts, add to it, or just get another perspective on the matter.