Anpao An American Indian Odyssey

Sun Gods, wolf people, and moons who snatch people up from the sky and dispose of their body in a nearby tree. These are just a few images that are present in the novel Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey by Jamake Highwater. This novel presents a traditional perspective on a unique American Indian Culture. It is filled with themes that are common to the American Indian Culture such as magic, personification of nonhuman subjects, loyalty, coming of age and the hero’s journey, and cultural identity. Highwater uses many of these themes to give the reader insight into his unique cultural background. Jamake Highwater was born in 1942 and died in June of 2001. He was a talented American writer. He also served as a journalist for many years, writing

He was adopted by a Greek family and found out later in life that he had American Indian ancestry (Jamake, 2015a). He changed his name to Jamake Highwater when he received an affidavit from his adoptive mother indicating that he had an American Indian heritage. This highly influenced him and his future writings (O’Keefe, 2010). Even though Highwater writes highly of his roots, he is often criticized about the authenticity of his culture. Many critics have disputed his heritage by claiming his works are “inauthentic and stereotypical” and that he “received federal grand money illegally” (Jamake, 2015a). Whether this is true or not, many critics still praise Highwater for his realness and accuracy in portraying his American Indian Culture through his literature. He shares his beliefs his American Indian Culture, one of which is that there are many differences between values of Americans and American Indians. However, “he stressed that there is more than one reality and that one is not necessarily more valid than another, but each reality has his own truths.” (Jamake, 2015). He believes in coexisting with other cultures and thus bringing forth peace among peoples. Highwater exemplifies his ideas about his culture in his novel Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey. This novel combines both American Indian myth and history (Anpao, 2015). While fictional, it still incorporates many of the same themes and ideals that are present in the American Indian culture. The language of the book is fairly simple as it is at a juvenile reading level; however the plot is complicated and interweaves relationships and themes across the