Summary Of Sherman Alexe's Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

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Students have learned that years ago, the government had abused their power over Native Americans. However, teachers rarely cover the modern day, real life issue of lives on Indian Reservations. Native Americans were given land by the US government, such as the Navajos who were given 27,000 square miles of land that stretches through the states of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico (Discover Navajo). However, other than giving them land, the government does little else for the Navajo people on the reservation. In the novel Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie gives the reader a great representation of what life is like on these reservations. Though his book mainly focuses on the struggles of Junior and the Spokane Reservation, this book can be used as an example for life in most reservations across the United States, including the Navajo Reservation. Sadly, poverty, poor education, and substance abuse issues are a staple characteristic of reservations these days. …show more content…

The median income for a household in New Hampshire is $64,664, and only 8% of the population is under the poverty level(New Hampshire QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau, 1). In a country where the average price of a new car is $31,252, it is hard to imagine how a whole family can survive off of less than $20,005 (Healey, 1). It is nearly impossible to break free from poverty in these reservations to be able to afford something like a new car. There are very few jobs on the Navajo Reservation. In fact, the working force only makes up 28% of the population of the reservation. The other 42% of the population is unemployed (Facts at a Glance,