Alexie, himself a Native American, was able to illustrate the conflicts in a very honest way. One of the central conflicts in the novel is the community's devotion to maintaining their rich and beloved culture, while at the same time trying to keep up with the modern world. Young, conservative white readers most likely have little understanding of what it means to want to keep old traditions alive, but they are educated on this topic through this novel. In Reserve Blues, younger generations have been heavily influenced by mainstream media with little recognition of the ancient traditions of their ancestors. In contrast to the younger generations, the older generations have shown a great desire to maintain these ancient traditions. The young band in the novel is heavily influenced by the media and wishes to keep up with popular culture. They get caught up in the fame and fortune and realize they have the potential to do great things. Alexie foreshadowed this event when he wrote, “For the rest of our lives, all we can hear are our names chanted over and over again, until we become deaf to everything else” (1995, p. 212). They forget the teachings of their culture and the idea that music is meant to heal the soul. Their elders despise those who neglect to recognize the beauty of their traditions and see it as the end of their wonderful culture. White Americans haven't necessarily been too exposed to experiences like this. The United States is so young that its traditions are forming now, unlike other countries and cultures that date back hundreds, if not thousands of years. The value of reading Reserve Blues by Sherman Alexie is that the story provides readers with the understanding that there are older cultures out there that may not want to adapt to the current world.