We see the tribe itself as the basic unit of governance and the leadership that defines other traditional leaders in Sherman Alexie’s “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona.”

Colonialism has had an effect on the economy and society. Because of their extreme poverty, he had no money when he sought to locate his father. His friend Thomas helped him out by lending him some money so that he could travel and reach the city where the father had died. Being of Indian descent, they were never recruited, leaving them without a job or a source of money.