Sherman Alexie

I'm reading Sherman Alexie's newest novel. It is a YA novel called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. It is really a great read. If you're white and easily get offended by how miniorities see you then you probably don't want to read it. It is a book about race. Plain and simple.

I live in a state where African-Americans are treated better than the Native American people are. In fact in the Western part of the state if you are Native American and end up in a life threatening car accident forget about getting medical emergency help. Those folks will stand there and watch you die.

I know this to be true because when I dated a Native American boy in high school people went around telling my parents the biggest lies about him. Said he was some sort of druggie dude. I can vouch for him. He never did drugs. Alcohol was his choice but he wasn't any different from any other guy in our high school. By the way this guy wasn't from one of the 5 Tribes. The 5 Tribes people aren't looked down on as much as the Apache, Commanche, etc. This guy was an Apache.

Anyway, this book is a hoot! Junior is a 14 year old boy who ends up leaving the reservation to go to school in the white town. Actually he doesn't really leave the "rez", he just goes to school in town. His community sees this as an act of treason.

Sherman Alexie captures the Native American humor well. I first got interested in Alexie when I had to do original cataloging of video the college did of his visit. He is an entertaining speaker. I immediately checked out our copy of Smoke Signals and took it home to watch. This is one of the movies that lives in PF and my imagination. We alluded to it for months after watching it. When we took a trip to New Mexico we found ourselves saying, "Hey! Victor."

My experience is racism against Native Americans is far more accepted than racism against African Americans, Hispanics or Asians. Maybe it just matters about what part of the country you live in but I've seen things that aren't right. I know about more injustices perpetrated on the Native Americans than on any miniority. Our federal government thinks nothing of going in to reservations and eliminating the sources of income the Native people develop for themselves. During the '60s the Federal Marshalls exteriminated the sheep herds of the Navajos. Before Guantanamo we had political prisoners. In fact every time this particular person comes up for parole the parole hearing is denied. This is Native American man accused of killing an FBI agent in North Dakota. The courts were never able to prove that he killed the FBI agent but the government refuses give the man his freedom. It seems to me that as soon as the Native Americans become successful at something the US government steps in and throws a wrench into the works. You don't hear about these things. They don't make the 6 o'clock news or even the 10 o'clock news. Wanna read some good history on Native Americans and their treatment by the U.S. government? Read Angie Deboe's books. Here is something to think about Angie Deboe was denied her PhD. Why? Because she stood up against the treatment of Native Americans.

So if you read this book by Alexie and get offended by the things that are said in the book. Stop. Think. Read some history. The plight of the Native American is at our door step just as much as the plight of the African American peoples is. Our forefathers were rather good at creating situations that modelled what happened in Ireland. In fact one can say that Ireland was the prototype of the subjegation of people all over the world. The British just prefected it in other places.