Mark Johnson Dr.

Cecelia Musselman 11/1/2013 Project 2- Final Draft 1,080 words MLA

Making Known the Modern American Indian

By, Mark Johnson

Many people are familiar with the hardship Native Americans had to endure in this country, from the conquests of the Spanish conquistadors to the Trail of Tears. Many also believe today that that suffering is over and they lead lives no different or unique from any other American. Sherman Alexie could not paint a grimmer picture in his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, which shows realistically the struggles that Native Americans continue to face today; struggles you never hear about in any news reports. And yet, this book

that seeks to inform people of the Indian plight has been challenged and banned across the country. Alexie explores the life of the fictional Arnold Junior Spirit, a Native American teenager who is dissatisfied with life on the reservation and leaves to attend an all-white high school. On the Spokane Indian Reservation, alcohol and poverty are prevalent. Juniors family is poor, and his best friends father is a severe alcoholic who beats his wife and son (eNotes). To most Americans, any such depiction of American Indian life would be shocking, but it is sadly all too accurate. I recall traveling in Southern Utah some years ago and talking to a local about what the Navajo Reservation nearby was like, to which he replied it was all-around very unpleasant. He had once witnessed a poor Navajo child scarf down an obscenely unhealthy amount of soda and candy in one sitting his drunken father had just purchased; childhood obesity is a large problem with poor families who can only afford cheap food. No wonder why Junior (and most nonfictional Native Americans) wants to get the hell off the reservation. Alexie doesnt hold back one bit when writing about the struggles of the protagonist. A candid coming-of-age novel, Alexie brings into the spotlight some parts of growing up that evidently make some people uncomfortable, such as bullying and masturbation. In a time where there is a high rate of school shootings, depression and suicide, and continued unequal opportunity among minority groups, Alexies book couldnt be more relevant to the early 21st century youth. And yet some believe it is a solution to bury our children s heads in the sand and pretend those problems wont exist if our kids arent aware of their existence. One parent in Oregon in 2008 took some masturbation, racism, and violent references out of context and demanded the book be banned, to which the school board complied (Baldassaro). What are they afraid of? Teenagers will become violent, bullying, deviant racists if they read or are exposed to

such things? Very few high schoolers are unaware of any of the racy topics in the novel, and the majority of high schoolers arent violent, bullying, deviant racists. If anything, the continued censorship gives young Americans an unrealistic view of reality; one that says if theres a problem, it should be ignored and it will go away. And thus these deep issues in our society are not openly addressed and resolved, and we go on living like ostriches. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian deals with one specific group that is suffering as a result of this mass cultural denial (although we are all deeply affected by it): the American Indian. How can we bring about change in the way their communities work if 90% of Americans are unaware there is even a problem? As mentioned, most people dont associate Native Americans today with poverty, alcoholism, or obesity, and yet these issues are rampant in reservation communities; so much so that many have been compared to living in a third world country. Almost 30% of Native Americans in the U.S. total live below the federal poverty line; on reservations it can be up to 63% (National Relief Charities). As a person who has embraced the spiritual and cultural philosophies of Native Americans, these statistics are just depressing to me. A once great and noble people reduced to living at the bottom of the social ladder in a land they used to call their own. And no one seems to be doing anything about it. It is unfortunate this book has faced so much opposition from various educational institutions. In addition to raising awareness of the plight of the American Indian, I believe it could be used to help teenagers and young adults understand the difficulties they will face as they reach maturity. The protagonist Junior is highly relatable to the typical American teen, as he deals with peer pressure, bullying, and a growing interest in the opposite sex; all with open compassion and morality to his fellow students. The book does not glorify any of its lewd or violent content, but rather shows an individuals moral reaction to and handling of such

situations. If we were talking about a novelized Grand Theft Auto that was required reading in our schools, that would be a different story. But Alexies book is a snapshot into the life of a troubled teenager having difficulty fitting in because of his unique background. To most American teens, this is a very relatable issue, and one that they could gain some insight and guidance on by reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. One can only hope that parents and educators will realize that censorship and overprotection will not make our children grow up better people. Nor will it solve any of the personal and societal problems that our children will have to face in the future, or even in the present. Just as our lack of awareness has delayed any type of response to helping the American Indian, so we will continue to be harmed as information is suppressed and censored.

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank my classmates Dan and Morgan for reviewing my original drafts. I would also like to thank the gentleman I met in South Utah who provided me with the information on Navajo reservation life. Works Cited: Greifenhagen, Nancy A Native American teenage boy looking sad Nancy G Photography http://nancygphotography.photoshelter.com/image/I0000HHYXwoJ0Lpo October 2013 eNotes Publishing, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Summary and Analysis, http://www.enotes.com/topics/absolutely-true-diary-part-time-indian October 2013 Baldassaro, Wolf R., Banned Books Awareness: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian June, 2011 Banned Books Awareness http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/06/26/bannedbooks-awareness-absolutely-true-diary-parttime-indian/ October, 2013 National Relief Charities, Native American Aid: Living Conditions February, 2013 http://www.nrcprograms.org/site/PageServer?pagename=naa_livingconditions October, 2013