Growing Up in Reservation and Self-Determination

Native American culture is unique in a variety of ways. Many Native Americans live on reservations which allow them to be more in touch with their history and culture. Culture is made up of many different aspects like language, religion, clothing, beliefs, rules, and many other facets. Each reservation and tribe holds different beliefs so each group has a different culture making them unique in their own way. After reading “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, I was able to look at life on Native American reservations and gain a deeper understanding of some of the difficulties people face living here.

The story follows a young boy named Junior who is growing up in a very poverty stricken reservation called The Spokane Tribe with his family.

One tradition which their community holds is called the powwow celebration on Labor Day weekend. During this celebration, there is singing, war dancing, gambling, and storytelling. Although this sounds great, Junior did not like the annual powwow, because he felt like an outcast in his community.

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Junior had a medical condition which caused him to stand out among his peers, making him an easy target. Because of this, he was bullied a lot in school, making it not enjoyable for him. The school program itself was not very good because of how poor the community was, which really frustrated Junior who was eager to learn. Junior was a very intelligent student but the school was restricting him from developing his talents, he believed that he deserved better for himself.

Outside of the school, there were also aspects of the community which did not allow him to grow to his full potential.

Furthermore, alcoholism and poverty were two large issues which impacted the way Junior grew up. Both Juniors parents, and many other members of the community are alcoholics. Because of all these reasons, Junior decided to go to a mainly all white school in Reardan, in order to get a better education and life for himself. While there, he felt like even more of an outcast. Bullying was happening both at his new school, and by some of the members on the reserve for betraying them. Towards the end of the novel, Junior faces the death of three people he was very close with. Through this experience he again faced a lot of emotional trauma which impacted who was as a person. Furthermore, Junior faced a lot of obstacles in his life which have shaped his identity.

First, being born into a reservation gave him the opportunity to learn about his ethnicity and Native American history. He was also able to experience first hand how the reservation was changing and developing. Again, from being born into a reservation in poverty, Junior was being exposed to issues which many children have never dealt with. There were days where his family could not afford to buy food or have money for gas for the car to drive to school. Most students at Reardan were very well off and did not experience life in poverty like Junior. There are many things that go along with someone's identity, experiences along with culture make up a large portion of one's identity.

It was very eye opening to see what life was like on a Native American reservations. I was shocked to see how big of a problem poverty was in this community and the drug and alcohol abuse which followed. I definitely recommend this book to everyone wanting to know more about Native American reservations. Reading from Juniors point of view made me understand life on reservations more than I would just reading facts about it. Furthermore, putting a story behind the information about life on reservation made it more personal and I felt some of the emotions Junior was feeling through his life.