In Sherman Alexie's semi-autobiographical novel "The Absolutely True Diaries of a Part Time Indian", the main character, Junior's life is impacted by alcohol in a multitude of ways. The problems that alcohol create for junior run the gamut from direct tragedies in his life to more subtle issues that have plagued Native Americans for centuries now.
Some of the more overt and tragic examples from the novel include Junior's grandmother being struck and killed by a drunk driver, his sister Mary passing out and burning to death while intoxicated and his fathers best friend Eugene losing his life to a drunken gunman. Along with his string of tragedies, Junior was also dealing with many second hand effects of alcoholism such as his friend Rowdy's often violent and belligerent behavior spawned by abuse at the hands of his drunken father.
Just imagine for a second how different this novel would have been if alcohol was never introduced into Native American culture, It would be a different story altogether. Without alcohol, not only would Junior's family be in much better shape and a couple members larger but it is likely that the entire socioeconomic landscape of the reservation (if they even still lived there) would be far more positive. Of all the awful and deplorable things that early (and more recent) American cultures have brought onto the Native people, alcohol continues to be one of the most lasting and devastating. It saddens me to think that the country in which I live was built on the genocide and displacement of the native indigenous people. Not only were Native Americans victims of the first use of a biological weaponry in the form of smallpox infected blankets, they were also the targets of what was maybe the first instance of subversive chemical weapon use in the form of alcohol flooding their communities.
Very powerful and thought-provoking. The final paragraph here is factual and v. well said, though some still don't like to admit that the government took part in these things. Add to it that if they survived all that, the logic was Indians wouldn't thrive in the territories they were sent to. (Re, Alexie reservations as "deathcamps.") Most Indians were relocated to lands that did not lend themselves to agriculture and food production.
ReplyDeleteOverall, strong post that could lead to a good research paper in different college courses.
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