Personal Narrative: An Interview With Arnold Spirit Jr.

In Sherman Alexie’s novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” the narrator portrays both internal and external conflicts throughout his journey to success. Arnold Junior Spirit is a fourteen-year-old boy who believes that in order to pursue his dream he will have to choose between staying in his Spokane Indian reservation or moving out to an all-white school in the neighboring farm town. But things aren’t as easy as they seem when Junior tries moving schools because he know has to be part of two communities. Many conflicts form within the Spokane Indian reservation and the Spokane Indian reservation as well comes into conflict with the white community.

In the essay entitled “How to Fight Monsters” by Sherman Alexie, an Indian boy named Junior faced challenges in handling bullies in his school. One morning Junior's father drives him to his new school in Reardan. He tries to comfort Junior that he is better than the white kids, but Junior thinks otherwise as he feels weak and insecure. He arrives at the school with a black eye from Rowdy, a boy who bullied him in his previous school (Alexie, 124). The kids waiting in front of the school stare at him like he was "a Bigfoot or a UFO" and he immediately felt that he doesn’t belong there. What is worse is that the only other Indian at the school is not a person but a mascot (Alexie, 125).

One of the main obstacles Junior overcomes is stereotypes. Junior is an Indian who lives on a reservation. Indians have many stereotypes that are towards them. For instance one stereotype is that they have no hope. Junior had a conversation with one of his teachers about his future, which involved him switching schools. Junior knew that if he stayed at the reservation high school he won’t be able to make a future for himself. So when his parents got home he asked them who has the most hope, “’White people, (Alexie45)’” his parents told him at the same time. Even

Growing up on a reservation where almost everyone has lost hope, Junior feels like an outcast for having a passion to chase after his dreams. When he moves to Reardan to find hope, he is gawked at and teased because he is the only Indian there. Junior faces internal conflicts within himself figuring out how to balance his two selves. According to Junior, “traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, [he] always felt like a stranger. [Junior] was half Indian in one place and half white in the other. It was like being Indian was [Junior’s] job, but it was only a part-time job. And it didn’t pay well at all” (Alexie 118). Junior is determined to discover his identity as it is evident in his choice of words. Feeling like a stranger wherever he goes, he believes that he is too white for the reservation while being too Indian for Reardan. The people on the reservation live in an atmosphere where they trust only each other and stick up for one another. However, when Junior goes to the reservation after being exposed to a community filled with white people, the Spokane’s do not see him as a true Indian anymore, hence the reason why Junior

Is it believable that Native American children face discrimination during their education because their schools have Native American mascots? Yes. However, are Native American children the only children who face discrimination throughout their education? Do mascots lead to discrimination against other races of children? Do African American and Asian children face discrimination? Do timid children, “nerds” and other various stereotypes face discrimination? Are all of these students not being discriminated against as well? A cultural mascot may lead to some discrimination against Native American children in school, but does it contribute to all discrimination against them? In Barbara E. Munson’s Common Themes and Questions About the Use of

Mascots, the Muppets big brother and the logos of school and teams are destroying Native Americans self-esteem. The seemingly innocent Sesame Street characters with growth hormones, we always thought that they were innocent, but the truth is most of the time they probably are not. Many schools and team mascot names mock either animals or a minority group like Native Americans. Some school even goes sore far as to parody a chant from native Americans, but they don't think of how it feels to be on the side of the native Americans. How would you feel if a white guy who treats every day like Halloween always made fun of you, what do you think it does to their self-esteem to be bullied by Elmo? The truth that is seen in Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Missing Point by Erik Stegman and Victoria Phillips, and Illinois Must Finally Remove All Links To Chief Illiniwek by Shannon Ryan is that team mascots and stereotypical fan behavior is just showing bullying on steroids, the same bullying Arnold experiences in Reardan high school in Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.

Others believe that these high drop-out rates are caused by discrimination that many Native American children experience while attending school. Some organizations began speaking with currently enrolled Native American students, to get a glimpse into their high school experience. After speaking with them and hearing about a continual lack of respect of their cultures from peers and archaic stereotypes, many began to see the possible correlation between discrimination and drop-out rates. The Sioux Falls Argus leader was one of the groups who spoke with Native American high school students. After they held a discussion with the students, they recorded that the students "…shared similar encounters with racism, discrimination, and stereotypes." One student who works

I was born on March 24,1999 in Eastland Memorial Hospital. My mother, Shana Davis, and father, Wayne Davis, both graduated from Tarleton University in Stephenville Texas. I have one brother who's older than me by a year and four months his name is Justin Davis. I attended elementary school at Siebert Elementary School. I was one of the youngest in my class and had struggled cause I always felt smaller and was very hostile. But as I started to grow I found myself starting to become less hostile, as I found myself being welcomed as a friend. I began playing sports when I was in the third grade I was always fascinated with football it had been my way to get away from everyday life. When I got into middle school and high school I got

I believe that if i talk to my students, then they will learn to respect Wind-Wolf and his native culture. I would like for him to make many friends. Most certainly, new friendships will motivate him to come to school and do well. Then you wrote, “To make matters worse, he recently encountered his first harsh case of racism” (Lake 98). I'm grateful that you shared with me something so personal, but i'm truly sorry to know that it's happened.

As someone who was raised on stories about American revolutionaries, I have always admired the “Great American Heroes.” After all, my history classes were filled with passages about George Washington, who dared to defy the great British Empire, Susan B. Anthony, who dared to fight the patriarchy, and Martin Luther King Jr, who dared to resist segregation…

The Spokane Indians were victims of adversity, whereas the students of Reardan high school were met with privilege. With this in mind, the reader is able to recognize the deviation in the aforementioned environments throughout the novel. To support this, a statement that exposes a confession of the direct oppression youth on the reservation face is one made by Arnold’s teacher, Mr. P. Mr. P is in the midst of lecturing Arnold about the reasons he should leave the reservation when he says, “We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (Sherman 35). Mr. P explains to Arnold that the teachers were instructed to strip Indians of their culture. Within the same conversation Mr. P continues on to say, “The only thing you kids are being

This draws a connection to the erasure of Native American culture in history, they are seen as rare and different from the ordinary, and for some people their existence is completely forgotten or denied. His own comments of not belonging at a white school, because of his nationality and family history further show the division of race that he can see at Reardan. Junior’s cursing accentuates how frustrated and pathetic he feels, viewed as less than everyone at his school, and constantly rejected and isolated by his white peers. The negative, demeaning mindset of those white kids is that Native Americans do not deserve anything from white people, not their time, attention, care, or even a proficient education. According to Jens Manuel Krogstad at Pew Research Center, Native Americans have the second highest high school dropout rate- eleven percent. This is very high, especially when compared to the white or Asian dropout rates- five and three percent, respectively. Additionally, it says Native Americans have the second lowest percentage of bachelor’s degrees, only seventeen percent, compared to the two highest, white and Asian, at thirty three and fifty percent (Krogstad). Many Native Americans today are not allowed a chance at education because of poverty at reservations, and lousy, penniless schools. These issues are not thought about or spoken of often, because they are simply not

Interviewing Rad made it clear to me the reason of miscommunication between us. Recognizing the similarity of my own childhood trauma experience with him was the key to help me comprehend my struggle as the future therapist with working with traumatized children. As Robbie Adler-Tapia (2012) wrote about relationship between therapist and a child: “ this is valuable information because the therapist’s reactions to the child, often labeled countertransference, are likely a good representation of the child’s experience of being in the world and in relationship with others. (p.53)

On October 13th I attended “communicating With Spirit With Jamie Butler” at the CSUSB Cross Cultural Center. I chose to attend this event for the reason that, I thought it would be interesting and I had never been to any kind of spiritual event before.

Garrett is just a selfless, giving, caring, loving person. He will help you to do anything you want to do or anything you have to do. Today is probably the best example I can give. My family just got the super dog, and he's only two. So he has too much energy for his own good. He can never be left alone because he has separation anxiety and will destroy our house. Of course my mom leaves the night of the homecoming game. I was supposed to skate board and then go to the game. I would be gone all day. My brother offered to take care of the dog while I was gone all day. From 7 am (school) to the end of the homecoming game. That's my brother for you.