Reading #3, Pages 48-66– In Junior’s mind, what is a “real Indian”? How does this impact him? Emma

            Junior sees “Indian” as being brown, tough, loyal, and hopeless, but he does not identify himself as all of these things. Fighting is so common that without Rowdy, bullies on the rez would pummel Junior constantly. But that isn’t even the worst part of living on the rez. Everyone that Junior knows has lost hope in themselves, their future, and their community. Most adults are drunks, wasting away, assuming that they have neither opportunities nor any possible way to make something of themselves. “Dad is a drunk and Mom is an ex-drunk, but they don’t want their kids to be drunks”(Alexie, 46). Because of the similarities between all Indians -their traditions, their past, their heritage- the Indians of the rez stay together. There would be no way of survival otherwise- no way to be successful in the real world. But Junior knows that he isn’t like all the other Indians. Even though he is brown, he would not be perceived as tough by first impressions, and he does not like to fight (with the exception of defending himself). Since Indians have been seen as “weak” throughout America’s history, they are known as nothing- they are seen as zero.  Because Junior is treated like he is nothing, he sees himself as the lowest of the low. Like Lenny from Of Mice and Men, he is a big dreamer, and he dreams through his cartoons. When Junior leaves for Reardan, the tribe sees him as a disloyal traitor, but he sees it as a step towards hope. Junior, unlike everyone else at the rez, has hope, and that, above all else, makes all of his differences to the other Indians worth it. If you were in his shoes, would you be ok with being different from the tribe?