How does Arnold's grandma impact him?

Arnold's grandmother is the voice of reason. She is Junior's favorite person in the entire world, a rock to lean on, a wise woman, and a fine example for her grandson. Unlike so many people on the reservation, Grandmother Spirit does not drink. She sees what the effects of alcohol have done to her people. For Junior, she is a great source of advice. Junior is comfortable sharing both his feelings and his fear, knowing grandmother will always point him in the right direction. Junior's favorite thing about his grandmother was her tolerance.... her willingness to travel from one place to the next; her acceptance of everyone no matter their race, religion, or sexual preferences. Grandmother wanted a world of peace. People were people, and she treated everyone the same. She was the best teacher and example Junior would ever have.

"I love my grandmother. She's the smartest person on the planet."

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Do you want to know the very best thing about my grandmother?

She was tolerant.

And I know that's a hilarious thing to say about your grandmother. I

mean, when people compliment their grandmothers, especially their Indian grandmothers, they usually say things like, "My grandmother is so wise" and "My grandmother is so kind" and "My grandmother has seen everything."

And, yeah, my grandmother was smart and kind and had traveled to about 100 different Indian reservations, but that had nothing to do with her greatness.

My grandmother's greatest gift was tolerance."

________________________________________________________________________________

"Whenever we went to Spokane, my grandmother would talk to anybody, even the homeless people, even the homeless guys who were talking to invisible people.

My grandmother would start talking to the invisible people, too."