01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 25, 2004

If you're a regular reader of The Journal, then you have probably never heard of me. That is because I am a Narragansett Indian who has no criminal record, doesn't overindulge in alcohol or drugs, and is not making speeches about a casino.

I am a Narragansett Indian who has a college degree, a good job, and a loving family. This is all boring stuff, of course. Judging by the way that The Journal portrays tribal members, you might have the impression that we all punch policemen or drive unregistered cars.

Since last fall I've been trying to get The Journal interested in doing a piece on me. You see, last October I realized by lifelong dream of becoming an author. Not only that, but on the day that the press started on my first book, Carlomagno, my second, Nacogdoches, was accepted.

I thought my story might be of some interest since I am a former tribal councilman, once wrote a nationally syndicated newspaper column, and, in 2003, became the first Native journalist to win writing awards in four different categories during the Native American Journalists Association's convention.

On top of all that, I am a descendant of King Ninigret, and my wife, Cindy, is a descendant of Ninigret's 17th Century contemporary Roger Williams!

None of this interests the state's biggest newspaper, of course. To show a Narragansett Indian in a successful light might undermine the erroneous image of the tribe that The Journal seems bent on perpetuating.

JOHN CHRISTIAN HOPKINS (STANDING BEAR)

Westerly