Reflection of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

I really enjoyed this reading because of how quick it is to digest and how Alexie addresses many social issues in a casual manner. He utilizes the narration of a rising freshman as well as insertion of cartoons to make the intensity of negative post-colonial effects and racism seem less overwhelming. As we discussed in class, "post-colonial theory looks at issues of power, economics, politics, religion and culture and how these elements work in relation to colonial hegemony." With this in mind, we may analyze how Arnold elaborates on the effects of colonization in the United States as well as westward expansion as his people would be considered the "colonized." The first glimpse we get at the effects of colonialism is where Mr. P describes to Arnold how he use to "teach" Native Americans. He says, "we beat them. That's how we were taught to teach you. We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child" (pg 35). In my Native American short story class this semester, we are discussing coercive assimilation which took place in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The goal of this set of policies was to turn Indians into white people. American Indian culture was to be replaced with the agrarian and individualistic aspects of white, Christian, European-based culture. As an example of the lasting effects of colonization or relocation or whatever you want to call it, Arnold says, “I know, I know. But some Indians think you have to act white to make your life better. Some Indians think you become white if you try to make your life better, if you become successful”(pg. 131). Other lasting effects of colonization that are prevalent on the reservation shown in this book include a lack of funding for schools leading to poorer education than the rest of the country, lack of resources to produce enough income in households leading to stress leading to alcohol and drug usage, and finally just a simple lack in self worth.
I also wanted to touch on the issue of racism and stereotyping that this diary brings up. The best example of this is found on page 63 as Arnold says, "none of those guys punched me or got violent. After all, I was a reservation Indian, and no matter how geeky and weak I appeared to be, I was still a potential killer. So mostly they called me names. Lots of names." Their prejudice against him stems from their lack of experience with those of his race- because he lives on a government imposed reservation. Their fear stems from possible former instances of unstable people of his kind whose instability came from complete isolation and lack of resources. It's a vicious cycle. Another example of racism is how his science teacher won't acknowledge his correction of definition but will accept the same response from a white student.
This entry has become longer than I intended, so I apologize. I made another connection besides that one from my Native American short story class though. Arnold's character is in perfect alignment with the development of a boy his age (as I'm slowly understanding in my Adolescent Development class). He is trying to understand his identity apart from his family and he seeks to be accepted. This is best represented in the cartoons on pages 43 and 6. That being said, I totally agree with the author's depiction of adolescence. And as a final statement, the biggest thing I got from this book is how to effectively cover intense topics in history and I look forward to finding similar novels or materials to use in my classroom!