Indian Killer Quotes

People often go through life without knowing what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes. Many outsiders view the United States today, as an undemanding country- with its citizens being able to have jobs and money whenever they need it and living life to it’s fullest. This is the commonly depicted idea of America, though this is not the lifestyle for many living here. Specifically, the Native American community has it the hardest currently. Native Americans have been consistently struggling with life since the Removal Act of 1830- causing mass groups of Natives to be forced onto reservation, ‘till the modern world of today- the 21 century. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, articles “Why Are Indian Reservations So Poor? A Look At The Bottom 1%” by John Koppisch,“The Absence of Native American Power” and “Drinking Behavior and Sources of Alcohol: Differences Between Native American and White Youths” they explain what the average Native American has to go through. Today, being Native American means to constantly struggle with poverty, alcoholism and loss of to try and get by in life.

Native American people have a unique struggle in society. This stems from cultural epidemics like drug addiction, alcoholism, poverty, obesity, and rampant suicide, but also systemic racism and cultural lag (Flores 1999; Greenfield, Cocking 2014; Sarche, Spicer 2008;). This is not a critique of culture, just an observation of the condition of the families I have helped serve over the course of this internship. To be “Native” carries with it a slew of stereotypical representations (Gay 2002; Mihesuah 2009). Stereotypes do not represent reality, but they do affect one’s social standing (Gay 2002). More than that, stereotypes alter how individuals view themselves, and limit their ability to become something other than the stereotype (Gay 2002; Mihesuah 2009). And the cycle goes on and on. If Native American children grow up in a closed network, such as a reservation, the reality is brutal (Mihesuah 2009). Drug abuse, domestic abuse, alcoholism, and the like are everywhere. These things that seem so horrible and extraordinary are commonplace and normalized. That doesn’t mean that all Native Americans are addicts or alcoholics—they aren’t, it’s just the prevailing narrative (Mihesuah 2009). Natives are exposed to a very euro-centric cultural perspective of Native Americans, and this is usually in the historical sense (Mihesuah 2009). The dominant culture tells Native children that they exist only in the past, and teaches them that they have limited avenues (Mihesuah 2009;

Native Americans more than any other group in the country fare considerably worse based on social and economic indicators. They suffer high poverty rates, low life expectancy, and higher than usual rates of illness. Alcoholism and suicide rates are especially rampant within the reservations. One of the most devastating programs, with concerns which are still felt today, was the systematic removal of native lands and children. Native Americans were forced off their lands to undesirable lands, slowly falling more dependent on federal government assistance and food distributions. Then slowly children were taken from their kin and placed in government funded church ran boarding schools, where they were disciplined for speaking their languages or practicing their native traditions. But let’s look at the traditions of the Native American woman.

In Sherman Alexie’s book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” the reader experiences firsthand the overwhelming devastation poverty wreaks on the lives of those living on a reservation. The story’s awkward teenage narrator, Arnold, expresses frustration when he shares how he lives “with his poor-ass family on the poor-ass Spokane Indian

In Indian Killer Alexie uses a pulp-fiction form, the serial killer mystery, to frame the social issues facing American Indians. He populates the book with stock characters such as a grizzled ex-cop, a left-wing professor, a right-wing talk radio personality, drunken bums, thuggish teenagers and a schizophrenic main character who serves as the most obvious suspect in a mystery that never quite resolves itself.

In his essay, he recounts how as the Native Americans were forced to adapt to European culture, some were recuited to help bring back runaway slaves since they had better knowledge of the land. He also showed that although some turned towards Catholicism and other European religions for solace from their difficult times, many turned towards a much more common form of coping: alcohol. Axtell showed how they went to desperate measures to pay off their debts and survive in the New World. Some even went as far as to sell their lands and themselves into indentured servitude. Most would think that the loss of lands and freedoms were the Europeans’ fault, while the truth is that some actually voluntarily gave up those essential parts of life. The portrayal of the Native Americans seems to be more well-rounded, showing both the good and the darker sides of their

Throughout history, Native Americans have proven themselves to be integral towards the storyline of the new world. Beginning with the First Contact, Native Americans exchanged goods and ideas with their European visitors, promoting advancement of both cultures. This transfer of global information allowed the world to advance at a much faster rate, leading to new technologies and ways of living. Though bringing the world to a more modern state, the First contact brought upon many negatives toward the Native peoples of America. The misrepresentation of America’s indigenous peoples occurred throughout this time, becoming detrimental to their way of life and causing much distress on their people. In assessing the ways in which misrepresentation constructs a contemporary view of racial identity, the factors of Native American stereotypes, disruption of the Native way of life, and Native American media

Racism, much like classism in the book is presented in a subversive manor throughout the landscape of the reservation. Whether through conditions imposed upon Native Americans, or the overall neglect. We are, however, presented with a few direct examples in the book of the destruction inherent in smaller forms of racism. At one point during a conversation, Victor, thinking to himself said, “It’s the small things that hurt the most. The white waitress who wouldn’t take an order, Tonto, the Washington Redskins.” (Alexie 1993:49) Victor puts forth an interesting concept of how daily minute racism has more damaging impacts than even some of the most severe transgressions against Native American Culture. Considering the title of the book, which

Alexie, a Native American himself, skillfully narrates Victor and Thomas’s journey to recover Victor father’s ashes from Phoenix, Arizona, reflecting on the many challenges and difficulties from Native Americans inside the reservations. Alexie begins the story describing Victor’s personal and financial troubles. He immediately sets the conditions to lead the reader into the story’s plot, and at the same time creates a parallel about social and economical problems inside the reservation. By commenting “Who does have money on a reservation, except the cigarettes and fireworks sales people?”(2), he connects the dots between Victor’s economic issues and those living in any Native American reservation. This is not a message about resilience, but about the poverty and economical disadvantage Native Americans face every day. In a quote from his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,

In this story, the Indians often resort to violence when faced with something that threatens their culture, or way of life. They see the fact

indians is a disgrace on the name of Christianity. He says that even the worst people can

The book is well written and in my opinion is a must read for anyone looking for the true account of how our native people were dehumanized and treated with the same respect as cattle being herded to market.

He reveals that one of the apparent steps for an empire to disintegrate is for the government to create mistrust and overlook the calls of the citizens. Moreover, he presses against the opinion of the American goal, affirming that it is unsound and an irrelevant myth. He explains that the concepts of America being a place of immense luck and wealth are endowed with “wild imagination and those who go to America with anticipations established upon them will absolutely find themselves depressed”. In respects to the Native Americans, he contends that though they are thoroughly distinctive, “they control augmented magnificent order and decorum”. Instead of immediately dismissing them as savages, he recognizes that they have their own

Sherman Alexie is an award-winning author who wrote the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The book is a semi-autobiography of Alexie’s life and his experience growing up on an Indian Reservation, as well as a more economically well-off school, where he was the only Native American student. The book gives readers the opportunity to get an idea of what life is like living on an impoverished reservation. It depicts the struggles of young Arnold Spirit Jr., or Junior, as he is known on the reservation, as he grows up living a double-life, or as he says “as a part-time Indian”. His struggles include dealing with poverty, alcoholism, and racism, all while trying to make something of his life. The book, which has multiple themes discussed throughout our online course, is a great way for people who have no experience with reservations to understand what life on one is like.

Native American author Alexie Sherman uses episodic storytelling in “Indian Education” to chronicle segments from each year of the protagonist, Victor’s schooling. Several instances of destitution and discrimination are woven throughout each chapter like how employed non-native teachers in reserve schools project racist attitudes onto Sherman’s character which mirror experiences that indigenous children still face today. “Betty Towle, missionary teacher … ‘Indians, Indians, Indians.’ She said without capitalization. She called me ‘Indian, Indian, Indian.’” (Sherman,