Alexie Graduation Speech

Sherman Alexie Graduation Speech 2017

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Discussion Questions

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" Discussion Questions 

by Maria Garcia, Taylor Golisano and Maia Steese 

Initial Impressions:
1. How did you feel about the ending? Were you satisfied with the ending?
2. What do you think Alexie's purpose of writing this book was?
3. After reading this book did it change your view on the world?

Discussion Questions:
1.Why did you think Sherman Alexie inserted the section about Turtle Lake?(With the mysterious horse carcass and flaming lake?
2. Do you think Arnold would be successful in his own way if he stayed on the reservation for the rest of his life?
3. Do you think the term "Indian" is comparable to other slang terms used within other cultural identities? (Is it appropriate for everyone to say?)
4. What adult do you think was the most influential in Junior/Arnold's life?
5.Which one of teachers played the most important role model to Junior/Arnold?

  

6. Do you think Mary's death was a breaking point in Arnold's life? Were you surprised with Arnold's reaction to his sister's death? Do you think the laughing represented something?

                                       

7. Do you think adding in the basketball scenes showcased his progress in his character development?
                                   
8. After Junior and Rowdy make up in the end of the novel, do you forgive the physical and verbal violence Rowdy inflicted on Arnold? Do you think he makes up for it in the end?
                       
9. Do you think Arnold losing his grandmother, Eugene, and Mary due to the connections of alcohol, will keep him away from the consumption of alcohol ever in his life?

                     
10. What is the significance of Arnold spitting up cantaloupe after his sister died?

Quotes

"I'm fourteen years old and I've been to forty-two funerals. That's really the biggest difference between Indians and white people." (199)

"But I looked over at the Wellpint Redskins, at Rowdy. I knew  that two or three of those Indians might not have eaten breakfast that morning."(195) 

"...'White girls are privileged. They're damsels in distress.' 'So what does that mean?' I asked. 'I think it means you're just a racist asshole like everybody else.' Wow." (117)  

"He may not have loved me perfectly, but he loved me as well as he could." (189) 

                                              

"Gay people do anything. They were like Swiss Army knives!" (155) 
                           Did this  make you think of two-spirit?

"...well of course, man. We Indians have lost everything. We lost our native land. We lost our language, we lost our songs and dances. We lost each other. We only know how to lose and be lost."(173) How does this quote make you feel? Do you agree with what Arnold says?

Do you think it was wrong of the mother to slap Arnold three times and say "Don't you ever drink!" (208) Or do you sympathize with her actions? 

                       1 in 10 Native American Deaths related to Alcohol 

Throughout the novel we see this overwhelming theme of Alcoholism in the Native American community. If you click on the above link it will lead you to the article discussing the data and statistics of the  alcohol related deaths in some Native American communities. In the article CDC epidemiologist, Dwayne Jarman conducted a study, specifically a national survey that measured Native American deaths (Spanning to the great plains and the Alaska area)  due to alcohol.
Here are a few quotes from the article:

  "11.7 percent of deaths among the Native American and Alaska Natives between 2001 and 2005 were alcohol-related, compared with 3.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole."

"The two leading cause of alcohol-related deaths among Indians were traffic accidents and alcoholic liver disease, each of which cause more than a quarter of the 1,514 alcohol-related deaths over the four-year period."

" The study said more than 68 percent of the Indians whose deaths were attributed to alcohol were men, and 66 percent were people younger than 50 years old. Seven percent were less than 20 years old."

"The study recommends 'culturally appropriate clinical interventions' reducing excessive drinking and better integration between tribal healthcare centers and tribal courts, which often deal with alcohol-related crimes." 

Key Question (in connection to this novel and this article): Why do you think Alexie wrote each one of the family members who passed away, to die in an alcohol related incident?  What is the significance of this?

"Diary of a Part Time Indian" Discussion Questions

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Class Discussion

by Anthony Licata, Abigail Maguire, Sarah Kelly

“I was that kid. It is a very autobiographical novel.”

Initial Impression Questions:

• Do you like the book so far?
• How does it compare to other pieces we have read?
• Common themes or ideas?

Discussion Questions:

• How did you feel about the way the narrator is treated within his own community?
• What do you think it means to Junior to be a “part-time” indian?
• What do you think of the quote “Who has the most hope?” “White people.”
• What is the significance of Junior asking Roger, “What are the rules?”

Reading and Interview with Sherman Alexie:

Themes:   

1. Alcoholism
2. Native American Authenticity and Identity
3. Reservation life and Poverty
4. Hope
5. Self-Esteem & Abuse

  Places from the Novel:

Map of the Reservation and Surrounding Area

Wellpinit School













Reardan School

Contemporary Connections: Trickster and Raccoons

After reading the stories in "Trickster" I loved the stories about the raccoon. I read an article all about the raccoon symbol in Native American stories/culture.

https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-symbols/raccoon-symbol.htm

After reading the article I learned new things about the Raccoon. The article says that the raccoon is an expert at disguise and secrecy. Abenaki say that the raccoon is always looking for food. We see this in the story about Azeban and the Crayfish when Azeban pretends to be dead, he's disguising himself as dead and keeping the secret that he's alive. The reason he does this is so that he can eat the crayfish so that also ties in them always looking for food. It says that the raccoon symbol is strongly used in the Mississippean culture. Many uses of the raccoon in symbolism also represent warfare. There are many paintings and drawings found at burial sites for the Missippeans, where the raccoon has knives and war axes. 

Injunuity Class Discussion- Alice Falco, Ann Coughlin, and Autumn Lancette

Initial Impression Questions:

1) Out of the three video clips you watched ("Buried," "Two Spirit," and "The Great Law"), which was your favorite? Why?
2) What are your thoughts about the topics covered in each video clip?
3) Do you think the topics discussed in each video should have more coverage?
4) Did you have any past knowledge or experience with the topics covered in the videos?
5) What was something you took away from the videos?
6) Was there a video that was confusing or you disliked? Why?
7) What was your impression of the illustration styles?

8) Were the voices in the videos authentic to indigenous people?

Background on the Injunuity Project 

• These video clips are reflections about the Native Americans' past, present, and future
• They bring to light the need for Native American wisdom is modern life
• Each video is spoken verbatim by a Native American
• The goal of Injunuity is to define the future and look at the future paths Native Americans have today

"Buried"

What are your thoughts about the monument? 

What did you feel when you watched the video and saw the picture of the monument?

The video portrayed White people as controlling and greedy. Do you think this could be seen as offensive or controversial?

"2005 'Shellmound' Documentary Exposes the Truth Behind, and Under, Bay Street Development:" https://evilleeye.com/history/2005-shellmound-documentary-exposes-the-truth-behind-and-under-bay-street-developement/ 

Key Points in Article:

• The documentary called "Shellmound" was filmed by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Alum Andrew Cedial and it aimed to reveal how the Bay Street development project disturbed and destroyed the Native American cemetery.
• The Ohlone Culture was established in 400 AD at the Temescal Creek near the San Francisco Bay. The Ohlone Shell mounds were composed of shells, tools, bowls, animal bones and human burials taht was created over thousands of years. The shell mounds served the Ohlone people as community cemeteries. 
• Before the mall was built, a pigment plant was built in the 1920s and then left abandoned in the 1990's. Because of this, toxic chemicals that contained arsenic and acid polluted the soil. 
  

"The Bay Street shopping mall on Shellmound Street draws hundreds of visitors every day, but few realize the cultural significance of the land that lies beneath it, or venture into the shellmound memorial park tucked into a corner of the mall, Cediel said."

"Two Spirit"

What are your thoughts on the term "Two Spirit?"

"As They Are: Two-Spirit People in the Modern World:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYGxZL8

• 9:09- 12:09

"The Way of the Two Spirited People:" http://www.dancingtoeaglespiritsociety.org/twospirit.php

Two-Spirit people had various terms in the traditional language of different tribes;

• The Din éh, or the Navaho tribe, referred to "Two-Spirits" as "nàdleehé" or one who is '"transformed" 
• The Lakota, or Sioux tribe, referred to "Two-Spirits" as "winkte," 
• The Mohave referred to "Two-Spirits" as "alyha"
• The Zuni referred to "Two-Spirits" as "lhamana"
• The Omaha referred to "Two-Spirits" as "mexoga" 

The Red Circle Project is an HIV Prevention Project that provides services to Native Americans and the Alaska Native Community. They provide various services such as group interventions for gay or transgender Native American individuals and provide HIV testing at Native American events such as powwows.
http://redcircleproject.org/

"The Great Law"

Do you think this video eliminated the stigma of Native Americans being "savages?"

Did you know about Native American government before watching the video?

Was there any confusion on the topic of this video clip?

Contemporary Connections: Joy Harjo and Transitioning Worlds/ The Concept of Death

"A Map to the Next World"  

 Transitioning Worlds/The Concept of Death

In Joy Harjo's poem "A Map to the Next World" as a reader I interpreted this piece to be about a person's journey through life. In this text she writes of crossing over to different worlds during this journey and sheds importance on using a map to guide ourselves. Ultimately in the  end of the text she ends off with saying that  as a person, we are in control of making our own map through this journey and that there really is no beginning  or end. While reading this poem I was able find several lines that stood out to me. Below are a couple of lines, that made me raise a few questions and ideas in understanding the meaning behind them. 

"In the last days of the fourth world I wished to make a map for those who would climb through the hole in the sky." 

From reading these starting lines, I asked myself " What is this fourth world? Could it be some type of spirit world?" What I loved is that Harjo mentions making a map, for  who I assume are people  wanting to cross over from life to death. She wants to make it an easier transition, an easier journey for the ones who are passing on. 

"You will travel through the membrane  of death , smell cooking from the encampment where our relatives  make a feast of fresh deer meat and corn soup, in the Milky Way."

In these lines,  Harjo mentions traveling through death and talks of cooking native dishes during this time while passing through the Milky Way. What is Harjo trying to do by mentioning the Milky Way? What is the significance of this reference? 

"Crucial to finding the way is this: there is no beginning  or end. You  must  make  your own map."

 

Ending with these last two lines, Harjo leaves us as readers off with saying that it's up to us to make our own map through this journey. 

After reading the poem, I wanted to search more into this idea of different worlds that Harjo mentioned. I wanted to research this idea in regards to Native America culture and look at different concepts associated with these worlds such as death. From researching, I stumbled across a post that was about the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island that connected to this idea of different worlds with the concept of death. Once a person passed on, they would transition between two different worlds; which is at the time of death, the soul leaves the body and joins with the souls of their family and friends in the the world of the dead, which lies somewhere to the southwest. After reading this post, it made me enjoy Harjo's poem  even more and helped me understand this concept and it's connection between different tribes in the Native American community.   

Contemporary Connections: Trickster and the Oral Tradition

                                                               The Oral Tradition

            Within the book "Trickster" there are many Native American stories. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of compiling a novel like this is the factor of authenticity. The way that Matt Dembiki made sure to honor this was letting each tribal member tell their own story orally. This has been a part of the Native American lifestyle for as long as Natives have been around. It is important to share these stories in the way that they were meant to be shared. An interesting thing about telling every story orally is the minor differences between the lines of the story because every aspect of the plot line is not set in stone or down on paper some people may tell it a little differently. That could have been a concern in the creation of this book but people are used to hearing these stories a bit differently depending on who is telling them. Also as states in the back of the book Matt Dembiki took another step to make sure these stories where culturally sound because he even had the storytellers re-check the story boards just to make sure they were illustrated exactly appropriately. In todays world it is hard to make sure these stories continue to be shared because as we learned from the Ted Talk watched in class, these stories can be lost with each loss of an elder if not shared of if the next generation is not as passionate about sharing them. It was a great opportunity for each tribe involved in the creation of "Trickster" to be able to share their tales for years to come.