Smoke Signals - Misunderstanding About Leaving the Reservation
Velma:
You guys got your passports?
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
Passports?
Velma:
Yeah, you're leavin the rez and goin into a whole different country, cousin.
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
But... but, it's the United States.
Lucy:
Damn right it is! That's as foreign as it gets. Hope you two have your vaccinations.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Smoke Signals - Bartering Stories for a Ride
Velma:
Hey Thomas, need a ride?
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
Yeah!
Velma:
What are we goin to trade for it? We're Indians, remember? We barter!
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
A story.
Velma:
Better be good.
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
Arnold got arrested, you know. But he got lucky. They charged him with attempted murder. Then they plea-bargined that down to assault with a deadly weapon. Then they plea-bargined that down to being an Indian in the 20th century. Then he got two years at Walla Walla.
Lucy:
What do you think?
Velma:
I think it's a fine example of the oral tradition.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Smoke Signals - Expressions of Grief and Connection
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
Hey Victor, I'm sorry about your dad.
Victor Joseph:
How'd you hear about it?
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
I heard it on the wind. I heard it from the birds. I felt it in the sunlight. And your mom was just in here crying.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Smoke Signals - The Complexity of Forgiving Our Fathers
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
How do we forgive our fathers? maybe in a dream do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often or forever when we were little? maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all. Do we forgive our fathers for marrying or not marrying our mothers? For divorcing or not divorcing our mothers? and shall we forgive them for their excess of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing or leaning for shutting doors for speaking through walls or never speaking or being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age or in their or in their deaths saying it to them or not saying it? If we forgive our fathers what is left. ("How do we forgive our fathers" by Dick Lourie)
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Smoke Signals - Loss and Connection in Family Relationships
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
All I know is that when your father left, your mother lost you too.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Smoke Signals - Humor in Warrior Image Misconceptions
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
Geez Victor, I guess the warrior look doesn't work everytime.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Smoke Signals - Reflections on Life and Death
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
Some days, it's a good day to die. And some days, it's a good day to have breakfast.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Smoke Signals - Children of Flame and Ash
Thomas Builds-the-Fire:
You know, there are some children who really aren't children at all. They're just pillars of flame that burn everything they touch. And there are some children who are just pillars of ash that fall apart when you touch them. Victor and me, we were children of flame and ash.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.