Sherman Alexie: What it means to be an Indian in America Essay

Sherman Alexie What it means to be an Indian in AmericaDr. Mather, if the Ghost bounce break downed, there would be no exceptions. all in all you white people would disappear. All of you. If those dead Indians came back to life, they wouldnt crawl into a sweathouse with you. They wouldnt dirty dog the pipe with you. Theyd kill you. Theyd gut you and eat your heart. -Marie, Indian Killer, 314The individuation of the modern infixed American is not found in simple language or description. Neither does a badge or collection of eagle feathers determine Native American identity. As Alexie demonstrates with the character of Dr. Mather and Wilson, pony-tails and store bought drums are mere materialistic symbols and stereotypes they have no real value or respect for the history behind a persons cultural heritage. Hanging out in Indian bars is insufficient. The identity of the Native American is formed in a context of opposition and resistance, of irreversible historical travesty, and o f inescapable conflict. Given the multifactorial and lengthy history of U.S. atrocities against the Indians, and the equally violent aggressions of Indians against whites, blood omit and animosity were the priming original Indian- U.S. relations. The original brutality these relations cannot be underestimated nor the intricate serial of laws and Acts passed throughout the ninteeth and twentieth centuries for the destruction of Indian culture and heritage. Yet, as Alexie argues, the forces of plague cannot be exclusively emphasized in determining the identity of the Native American. Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie is a work of humor, an investigation of community of interests identity and family love, as well as a discussion of hurry and hate. Maries speech to the hapless Dr. Mat... ...efers back to Maries hostile statement. Although not every Indian feels as Marie and Reggie do, certainly not John metalworker in his dream, the ominous metaphor of the owls marks Alexies predict ion for the future tense unless hate can be reconciled, the spirit of murder and blood shed will continue to plague man kind. While the title of the work serves to encompass victims of both white and Indian cultural backgrounds and closes on the attribute of the ambiguous killer, (could it be Wilson dancing wildly with his store bought cassette tape? Or could it be Reggie living large in his bloody victories?), the content of the fresh is a living account of human actions to historical contexts. Alexies work is overstate beyond reality, to be sure, yet his assessment of Native American identity is intriguing and universal in the story of recovery from human inflicted force and hate.