The Absolute True Story of a Part-Time Indian and Understanding the Indigenous Youth Experience11/12/2015 When asked the question of what books can teach us about the indigenous youth experience, my mind goes to a million different distinct moments from The Absolute Story of a Part-Time Indian. Unlike When Everything Feels Like the Movies (another teen novel I read this semester), I found my thoughts on this book are not focused around one specific, catastrophic event in the main character’s life. Although we were exposed to much of the young boy’s life in Feels Like the Movies, so much of what I think of is drawn to the specific, horrible tragedy at the end of the story. Although Junior, the main character in Part-Time Indian, also experienced many hardships in his life, I found it is an accumulation of daily experience that shapes his story. In some ways, I find this novel to be more difficult to write about because of all we have come to learn about Junior, but being able to reflect upon so many themes and moments in the story has helped me to better understand the general life experiences of indigenous youth.
First, I feel that teen fiction in general is a great resource that teachers should be aware of when interacting with youth, regardless of their culture of background. Teen fiction is a great outlet for teens since books provide the opportunity to explore detailed experiences of other people who may be going through relatable experiences. Books are also a wonderful way that youth can explore the realities of other youth, helping them better understand what life might be like for other people. Through literature, teens are also exposed to new and exciting experiences, ways of life, thought processes and coping strategies, which can help them better understand and deal with their own situations. For teachers, being able to get a glimpse into the life of a teen, including youth thought processes, experiences, histories and relationships helps them become more aware and understanding of personal situations. In reading Part-Time Indian, I found myself to not only better understand Junior as an individual, but I have also become more aware of differing life experiences all youth (particularly Indigenous youth) may be exposed to during their journey through adolescence. One of the most memorable moments was Junior’s explanation of what being poor is like, “You start believing you are poor because you are stupid and ugly. And then you start believing you are stupid and ugly because you’re Indian. And because you’re Indian you start believing that you’re destined to be poor…Poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor”. I found this moment to be very revealing and links many core concepts we have been focusing on throughout the term, particularly in terms of the Indigenous experience. In this moment, Junior is wisely able to reflect upon how his experiences are a product of the environment and relations between and within communities. I have heard many people over the years not fully understand why there is a focus on providing resources to Indigenous communities; yet, those same people refuse to accept or are ignorant to the long and often oppressive or difficult histories that have continued to shape how these communities function. In Junior’s situation, he is able to realize that growing up poor, with limited ability to experience any other reality, is what often leads the next generation to end up in the same situation. When faced with lowered opportunity and constant oppressive, racist tones underlying experiences and relationships with the greater community, it is hard to see how anyone would be able to escape such difficult situations, especially without support from others. I like to think of it as a race to success. Everyone has an opportunity to cross the finish line, but some people start much closer than others, depending on who they are, their personal situation or experiences. Along with this theme, I also found that Junior’s story demonstrated the importance of family and community support in a young person’s life and identity. This, I would argue, is true for all youth; anyone will have a more positive experience if they have a support system of loved ones to guide them and help them in their journey of adolescence. This, however, appeared to be particularly true in Part-Time Indian for a few reasons. Firstly, from what I have learned about Indigenous culture, community and family are at the core of all beliefs and practices. As for Junior, this can be seen during his grandmother’s funeral – everyone in the whole rez seemed to have made an appearance. Even in the face of heart ache, the community was able to lean on each other for support. Also, in Junior’s story, as important his immediate family was to him, much of his struggles came from tensions between what communities he belonged to. So much of his self-identity was reliant upon which group accepted him. In leaving the rez to attend school in the town, he automatically was unable to clearly identify where he belonged. The physical act of leaving the rez was seen as a symbolization of emotional departure from his community. Yet, Junior was unable to fully relate to or be accepted in his new school community. Junior describes himself as half white, half Indian – feeling unable to be accepted in either community, let alone both. He is unable to fully connect to any group because he is not able to fit his identity to a particular box hat is expected by him from the outside world. Although he was able to make some friends and excel in things like basketball, I had the sense that he still felt like an outsider in his own skin. As a teacher, reading about Junior’s experience has allowed me to think more deeply about how a student coming from any other community, but particularly an Indigenous community, would feel entering a new school with new faces and experiences that differ so much from those that they are used to. How must students feel when they enter into a completely foreign world, even if this world is only a town away from home? What about students who, unlike Junior, did not choose to leave their communities to enter into a settler’s school? How does the overall atmosphere and structure of a school, not just the people and opinions within the walls, shape a student’s experience in education? As a teacher, having a glimpse into Junior’s experience has really helped me understand what considerations we are required to make when dealing with youth in varying situations with varied cultures and histories. From reading about Junior’s interactions with his teachers at the new school, it is clear that many people can face an array of issues, emotions and struggles behind closed doors. When a student enters the classroom, we have no idea what they experienced just moments before. Student experiences could range from having a rough day, to having relationship problems, to dealing with a death in the family, to much more. In Part-Tine Indian specifically, many of the problems that have effected Junior’s life are presented in a way that indicates these issues may be more prevalent in Indigenous communities (like that of poverty or alcoholism), but may also be happening in the life of any student. The struggles Junior has had to deal with are his own and are shaped by his identity, but are transferrable in some ways to all youth. One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much was that I found that even in my experiences, which are very different from that of Junior’s, I was able to relate to some of his struggles in my own way. In a sense, the Indigenous youth experience is better understood by reading this book, and yet I think that I have a better understanding in youth experiences in general. As previously mentioned, while reading I couldn’t help make connections between the books Feels like the Movies and Part-Time Indian. One thing I really liked being exposed to and that was prevalent in both books was the main character having a particular outlet they used to escape, dream and cope. Whether it be dreaming of Hollywood or making cartoons, the teens in both situations used a creative outlet as a safety net, an outlet from life and a form of expression to face the pain they feel (which is often derived from not belonging or discrimination). The final moment in Part-Time Indian I will discuss was when the billionaire showed up at the grandmother’s funeral. Although I laughed out loud alongside Junior’s family at the ridiculousness of this moment, I feel that having a settler figure come in at this moment was an interesting juxtaposition between Indigenous and settler understandings, experiences and cultures. As much as the white man felt he was being appreciative of the grandmother’s legacy, in his ignorance he was able to appropriate a component of a community in a sensitive time. He was able to demonstrate that he felt he was able to take ownership of a part of a culture because he liked certain aspects about it, even though he didn’t really understanding it. He learned that we could not just swoop in and take ownership or make himself an ‘honorary Indians’ simply because he found the dress pretty or interesting. The same concept should be applied to all forms of appropriation, but also applies when realizing the importance of collaboration with other communities to work toward the common goal of truth, reconciliation and decolonization. As teachers, we have a strong obligation to properly represent Indigenous culture, being a key component in truth and reconciliation; however, we also have to realize where our place is and when it is time to leave certain pieces of culture to the owners of that culture. We need to find a way to appreciate and understand without over-stepping our position. There is only so much we can get from sitting in a room with a group of non-native people talking about native issues. We must extend our understanding through including Indigenous people in the conversation.
1 Comment
Linda Radford
11/15/2015 07:49:31 pm
This has been a fascinating post to read and I appreciate the insightful connection you have made between When Everything Feels Like the Movies and PT Indian. Additionally, I think you are really hitting the nail on the head in what Alexie represents through the scenes at Junior's grandmother's funeral.
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