“Whatever Happened to Frank Snake Church” is a short story by Sherman Alexie about a Spokane Indian named Frank who is, ironically, a National Park ranger. Throughout the course of the story we see how Frank deals with the major loss of his father and mother, and his inner struggle to reconcile the parts of himself.The story begins when Frank thinks he gets struck by lightning, but instead has a vision of his father’s death. While planning his father’s funeral in his head, he rushed home only to find his father alive and well, despite his vision. However, a year and four days later his father suffers a heart attack and dies, leaving Frank devastated and a stranger to himself and to his people. When Frank’s mother died, he buried with her something special to him and to her, his love and talent for the sport of basketball: when his father dies, Frank trains hires a fitness trainer and works himself sick everyday, striving to forget his grief and to beat out death. To deal with the grief of his father's death Frank left his casual Native American life and set out to find a new one. Frank quickly regained his amazing basketball skills from his highschool days and started playing pickup basketball all around his town. He …show more content…
It is a perspective that is very rarely represented, and more often than not, represented incorrectly. Alexie shows through his stories how Indians today still share some of the traditions and beliefs that they did many years ago. During the Mississippian Period, for example, the sociopolitical organization of chiefdom arose in the Native American culture, thus beginning the tradition of handing down the title and honor to chief to the next generation. Honoring your elders is a central idea in tribal civilizations throughout history and Frank chooses to honor his parents through
In Salvation on Sand Mountain, the emotional frustrations, cultural hypotheses, and literary images provide insight into the ethics of the author, Dennis Covington. During his dangerous undertakings while submerged in the religious practices of Appalachia, Covington incites anxiety within the reader when discussing worship services involving snakes, and inquisitorial thought when revealing the number of casualties involved, in turn showcasing his own passions and morality. Covington’s rectitude, goodwill, and intelligence all play important roles in revealing his ethos. Subsequently, they also exemplify his argument: No obstacle can conquer one’s religious devotion.
Stories are much more than just ink placed in clean rows on paper or dialogues that travel through air columns. All stories transform worldly experiences into sources of inspiration and perspicuity and Saul Indian Horse’s story is no exception. In Richard Wagamese’s novel, Indian Horse, Saul Indian Horse explains the events that have resulted in him receiving treatment for alcoholism at a rehab centre. Readers are exposed to the former hockey player’s moments of triumph, failure, and everything that falls in between. Saul mentions in his story how a leisure pursuit like hockey granted him temporary freedom and happiness from his sorrow-filled life. Saul’s example can inspire First Nations individuals to remain resilient in the face of adversity.
The story Navajo Lessons conveys the theme that “It is important to learn and appreciate your heritage.” This story is about a girl, Celine, and her brother that visit her grandmother on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Celine arrives at a place in the middle of nowhere at her grandmother’s house and is not excited because she had better plans for the summer. Her family is encouraging her to deal with it and make something good out of it. Over time, Celine learns that this trip was worth it because she realized that it is important to learn and appreciate your heritage. Celine learned this in many ways, one of them being that she wanted to learn and listen to the stories that her grandmother was telling.
Jim had a rough childhood. His mother and father had 11 children, six of which died at an early age. He had a very close relationship with his brother; they did everything together. They hunted, fished, played sports, and rode horses, and when pneumonia took the life of young Charles; Jim was heartbroken. Due to his death, Jim fell into a depression. He lost interest in athletics and his schooling, and constantly ran away from school. In 1898, his father, who was of European descent, sent him to Haskell Indian Junior College; a government managed boarding school located about 300 miles away from home in Lawrence, Kansas. This school took in young Native Americans and tried to “civilize” them. Jim was not permitted to speak his native Sac and Fox language and was forced to let go of his Indian traditions. Jim still held dear to his heritage despite these circumstances. It was here where he first wa...
In Shadow of a Nation, by Gary Smith, it states that intertribal warfare was banned. This meant that the Native Americans no longer had a way to win glory or status anymore by rule of their culture. As stated in the article, “something had to take war’s place, some way had to be found to count coups.” The article goes on to mention how pre-battle rituals were used before big basketball games. It also compares how “the same drum cadence and honor songs used 200 years ago to celebrate the seizing of a dozen horses of the killing of three Sioux now reverberated through gymnasiums and community halls at the capture of a basketball trophy.” This explains why Alexie uses basketball as a way to gain glory, or lose it in his short stories.
There are consistent patterns or themes regarding Native American world views and the differentiation of cultural elements and society. Native Americans retained control of institutional and cultural orders against the assimilation effort because all aspects of Native American societies are interrelated, guided by the broader cultural world views. Each cultural or institutional element is, in fact, overlapped with other elements, so change in one element inevitably affects the broader cultural and social complex. While adopting to a new environment and small changes was possible in the West, where social and cultural elements are separate from each other, Native Americans were faced with conflicts and a potential, large disruption of the existing social orders.
Oral history teaches the Navajo be aware of changes in the land and to protect Navajo synecdoche by avoiding ominous threats like rodents (35). But more significantly, oral history, as taught by the elders, requires the Navajo to respect their ceremonial dances, winter shoe games, and spiritual artifacts by refusing to sell their culture for capital (39). Navajo leaders used this 1993 illness to evaluate ignored cultural values and use ceremonies to strengthen “familiar ties and relationships” (40). By neglecting their traditions, the Navajo were bringing destruction upon themselves. Elders also sharply pointed out that “physical changes in the land reflect a break down in the proper relationship between Navajo and mother Earth” (39). The destruction of the Navajo exists in the uranium mining pits, road and water projects and dumping sites, unless prescribed healing ceremonies and future obedience can redeem their relationship with the land and the Holy People.
One thing that stood out to me was an instance when I wondered who was in charge. When Suzy Song called to inform the family of Arnold’s passing she makes the comment that she was “making the arrangements” for the deceased, but that someone should come and retrieve his belongings. This made me wonder how a non-family member was able to make such decisions. As far as I know the authorities have to contact and release remains to a family member, so it got me to thinking if the Indians’ culture was different, in that such matters were allowed to be taken care of by a friend. If this were true, the type of government system they have set up is totally different from that of the United States. When Arlene makes Victor promise to come back after retrieving his father’s remains, he asks if he needs to sign something as a promise and she refuses, insinuating that Indians don’t like to sign papers. It all left me wondering what types of community resources the people had, or didn’t have. It also gives rise to questions as to whether there was a form of government, and if so, how basic or detailed it
Basketball is a sport that is capable of changing one’s life. This is evident in the story, ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’ created by Sherman Alexie. The story is told through the eyes of Arnold Spirit Jr., an Indian attending Reardan, a white high school while living on the Spokane Indian reserve. Both sides do not take such a choice lightly, but this all changes when Arnold makes the Reardan varsity basketball team. With basketball, Arnold is no longer shunned for his choices. Basketball is a sport he can play freely, without the constant fear of consequences. Basketball is important to Arnold because it shows him the power of expectation, allows him to build healthy relationships and shows him the impact of support.
Experience changes one’s outlook on the world. Growing up on an Indian Reservation is a tough thing to do. Everyone is poor, and almost every adult is drunk and unhappy. Junior’s father suffers from alcoholism.
to teach the young of the tribe the type of values they would have to
The Cherokee Indians were a tribe that accepted non-Indian and Indian people with warmth. The dedication they had with one another was astonishing; they saw each other as brothers and sisters. This mentality brought in a strong bond within the tribe. The men would help clear fields, help plant and even help their wife’s harvest when it was time. Also the women were in charge of raising the children. Everyone had their own tasks which allowed for harmony and peace to reign among them. There was a population of about 25,000 Cherokee Indians which made them the largest Native Indian tribe in North America. From this, an attribute which allowed for them to expand through a large amount of land was that they were one of the most civilized tribes.
of Native American Culture as a Means of Reform,” American Indian Quarterly 26, no. 1
Change is one of the tallest hurdles we all must face growing up. We all must watch our relatives die or grow old, our pets do the same, change school or employment, and take responsibility for our own lives one way or another. Change is what shapes our personalities, it molds us as we journey through life, for some people, change is what breaks us. Watching everything you once knew as your reality wither away into nothing but memory and photographs is tough, and the most difficult part is continuing on with your life. In the novel Ceremony, author Leslie Silko explores how change impacted the entirety of Native American people, and the continual battle to keep up with an evolving world while still holding onto their past. Through Silko’s
Grandparents play an important and unique role in American Indian families. Strong relationships between grandparents and grandchildren is highly encouraged so that grandchildren may learn important cultural values and practices cross-generationally. This study focused on persons who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native (AIAN). This study looked at grandparents age 45 to 78 in attempt to find grandparents who were still actively taking care of their grandchildren. This study was conducted using information from the 2000 census. Through analysis of the census information, it was concluded that persons who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native are most likely to take responsibility for a