The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

While I was in living in Switzerland, our English teacher gave us a young-adult novel called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to read. This book is written by Sherman Alexie, who managed to give astonishing, objective and “absolutely true“ picture of lives of indigeous people of Northern America. Moreover, the writer himself is one of the most notable members of Spokane community. One of the main problems this book is dealing with is racism. Before I read this book, the first thing that came to my mind after hearing the word racism was African American, but there is a lot more to that. On the contrary, there is an entire other race in the United States of America who experiences all sorts of racism and injustice and it is Native American or American Indian. Furthermore, this novel is banned in various number of schools in the US, as a consequence of dealing with many controversial subjects.

The lovable narrator of The Absolutely True Diary is a fourteen-year-old Indian kid named Arnold Spirit, or as his tribe knows him, Junior. He is not only a usual teenage Indian, he was also born with a number of medical problems, such as a stutter and a lisp. However, even though he is bullied routinely, he is quite smart, funny and sensitive. The central conflict of the book comes when Junior decides to leave his reservation and attend the white school 22 miles away from his reservation. While being seen as a traitor by his fellow Indians, Arnold is caught between two worlds: his home on the reservation and the white high school he currently attends. As such, Junior feels like he does not fit anywhere and is forced to forge a new identity for himself.

Stereotypes about Native Americans

In Rita Pyrillis’ essay “Sorry for not being a stereotype”, she claims: “How many of you would know an American Indian if you saw one? My guess is not many.“ Rita's point of view, as a a free-lance journalist and a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, is that Indians are not different from other people, psychologically and especially physically. As Rita says, stereotypes do not have feelings. They only represent a fixed idea or image that many people have about a specific type of person or sometimes a thing, but which is often not true in reality. Because of them people become full of judgement, without knowing anything about the paricular person.

“Indians are still battling a red-faced, big-nosed Chief Wahoo and other stereotypes. No wonder people are confused about who Indians really are. When we're not hawking sticks of butter, or beer or chewing tobacco, we're scalping settlers. When we're not passed out drunk, we're living large off casinos. When we're not gyrating in Pocahoochie outfits at the Grammy Awards, we're leaping through the air at football games, represented by a white man in red face.“

From my point of view, there is no ideal way of dealing with prejudices and stereotypes. However, each person should be able to make their own opinions and therefore, ehave in a certain manner. As Sherman Alexie in this novel says:“Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.“ 

                               
Kill the Indian, save the child

The expression "Kill the Indian, save the child" or "Kill the Indian, save the man" has occured in late 1800's. It represented a series of Indian bording schools all across the USA, in which Indian children from age four were educated in white men's way. The children were given English names and family visits had been avoided. Brain washing techniques were used to make children forget their culture and religion. The goal of this was to “civilise“ Indians. Richard Henry Pratt, the founder of one of the Indian's bording schools said: "The Indians need the chances of participation you have had and they will just as easily become useful citizens."

This phrase is also used in this book, by the teacher in Junior's school:

"When I first started teaching here, that's what we did to the rowdy ones, you know? We beat them. That's how we were taught to teach you. We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child."

"You killed Indians?"

"No, no, it's just a saying. I didn't literally kill Indians. We were supposed to make you give up being Indian. Your songs and stories and language and dancing. Everything. We weren't trying to kill Indian people. We were trying to kill Indian culture."

This process was brutal and rutheless. Taking the Indian-ness out of the child was supposed to save the children, but it only stole their happiness.Despite the fact that the Indians are the first inhabbitants of Northern America, they have been treated like foreigners but other citizens. Another evidence which proves their non-acceptance by white people is the fact that Canada granted citizentship to Indians only in 1960.

The essential thing is for people to realise that we are all the same. Cultural and physical differencies are only small details and we should not be bothered with that. The importance is in the inner characteristics and our behaviour. Like Junior says: “I used to think the world was broken down by tribes,” I said. “By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn’t true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not”. It is on us to decide in which tribe we want to be.