Just throwing in my two cents on the was Twain racist question...Has anyone
read "The Noble Red Man" or the fragment "Huck and Tom Among the Indians"?
There are other stories about Indians, too, none of which are flattering to
the Indians. I believe at one point Twain calls them "lower than vermin,"
(I know I'm misquoting but it's close). I work in both the English Dept.
and the Native American Studies dept. here, and this comes up a lot.
Consenus
among my Native friends and colleagues is that Twain was DEFINITELY a
racist,
and a rather nasty one to boot. I have struggled with this as I thoroughly
enjoy most of Twain's writing. Just thought I'd pop in, so thanks.

B.L. Howard
Sonoma State University