Author cancels Notre Dame, Indianapolis appearances because of religious freedom law

Alexie had been scheduled to speak at Notre Dame late this month.

"I won't be doing any gigs in Indiana until they repeal the hate law they just passed," Alexie said in an interview in The Stranger, a weekly publication based in Seattle, Wash.

Alexie is a poet, writer and filmmaker who lives in Seattle. Some of his best known works are "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" and "Smoke Signals," a 1998 film. Much of his work draws on his experience as a Native American with ancestry in several tribes.

Notre Dame professors Stuart Greene and Brian Collier confirmed Alexie canceled his visit here.

Alexie also canceled a scheduled engagement for September at the Kurt Vonnegut Library in Indianapolis.