Abstract: In the process of modernization, survival and development are a general issue for all developing nations and ethnicities. One of the keys to this issue is people's attitude toward their tradition. Focusing on the survival and development theme in Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues, this paper attempts to find a way out for the conflict between tradition and modernity. Scott Andrews reads the novel as one presenting reservation Indians with a new road which turns out to be a dead end because the novel ultimately falls victim to the Manichean logic. With the concept of multiple modernities, this paper tries to unravel the conflicts between American Indians and the Whites, and between American Indian and Western cultures in terms of tradition and modernity. It argues that the new road does not lead to a dead end. Instead, the hopeful ending of the novel promises young Indians a way out of the reservation. They will move to the big world with their tradition, striving for a modernity or postmodernity with American Indian characteristics.

Key words: American Indian literature, Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues, tradition, modernity