Writer Sherman Alexie -- like many contemporary native Americans -- tries to shatter popular misconceptions about his people.

"Most reservations are fundamental -- pro-gun, pro-war, mostly male-dominated," he said. "I wish we were the people you think we are -- it'd be beautiful. I wish it with all my heart. And I wish you were like the people in the Declaration of Independence," he said March 6 talk in Cornell's Statler Auditorium.

Alexie came to Cornell as the 2009 Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin lecturer and presented a public talk, "The Partially True Story of the True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," sponsored by the Cornell Graduate School.

Throughout his one-hour talk, the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene storyteller recalled the rough conditions he saw growing up, partially disabled and totally poor, on a reservation in Washington state. He balanced several uproariously funny anecdotes with sharp, serious observations about Indian life and contemporary America.

He said humor was a necessity for his survival -- "I was funny because I had to be; it wasn't an artistic choice" -- and that his worldview, including his humor, was largely inspired by anger.

"You don't live like that and not collect pounds and pounds of rage," he said.

He mentioned surviving on government-rationed food; relying on the Indian health service ("You don't want socialized medicine; think again"); and his family getting indoor plumbing when he was 7 years old.

"I still love bathrooms," he said. "Toilets, the white porcelain ... this represented [a] major economic step for my family."

People are often surprised that he likes television and even defends it, he said.

"'Nova' was one of my sacred texts, because we could get PBS if someone held onto the antenna," he said.

He also commented on the success he has achieved as a poet and fiction writer. He is the critically acclaimed author of several books including "Reservation Blues"; the 2007 National Book Award-winning picaresque youth novel "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"; and several short stories, one of which was adapted into the film "Smoke Signals."

Vegans came in for special opprobrium. "It's a mark of your privilege that you have a choice," he said. "It still doesn't make you morally superior. I only need one minute of interrogation to find out how you're awful ... I get more hate mail from vegans than I do from fundamentalist Christians."

He left the audience with many words of advice, including: "Learn the value of boredom. Your unwillingness to deal with boredom gets you into all sorts of trouble."

Graduate School Dean Sunny Powers said Alexie met informally with graduate students in seminars earlier in the day. Alexie also gave long answers to a few questions from the audience, and then signed books in the Statler lobby and talked with audience members for an hour after the lecture.