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Analyzing The Challenges Faced By A Junior's Life On The Spokane Reservation

497 Words2 Pages

In the absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian, we read about the Spokane reservation and the life of a junior who struggles due to his birth defect and generational trauma, as well as the problems I will write about in this essay. These challenges are recurring issues throughout Native American history since the first colonizers and are deeply rooted in the history of Native American oppression. This essay explores three major issues faced by the junior and his family in the book – poverty, alcoholism, and racism – and how they trace back to historical discrimination. Poverty is a huge issue and causes a lot of depression on the Spokane reservation as well as almost every other reservation; it affects many people living on reservations …show more content…

Junior's family in the book faces these same challenges, trying to make ends meet on the Spokane Indian Reservation such as the fact that he has to walk to reardan because his father is too drunk, the fact that they can afford to go to the vet and the fact that junior states that he goes some days without dinner. Alcoholism is another big issue in the book, and it's sadly common on reservations. Both of the junior's parents are alcoholics and most of the junior's family friends are alcoholics. This problem has its roots in the damage done by Europeans, too. When Europeans arrived, they brought alcohol with them, which wasn't part of Native American culture before. Over time, many Native Americans turned to alcohol to cope with the pain and difficulties they faced. Junior's father in the story is one example, as he battles alcoholism. This addiction not only hurts many people, but also tears families apart and makes it harder for communities to heal and move forward. Racism is something Junior deals with both on the reservation and when he goes to the arena. This isn't new: Native Americans have faced discrimination since the first settlers arrived. From the time Europeans first arrived, Native Americans were often treated as inferior and were pushed aside by

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