“In the end, there is no absence of irony: the integrity of what is sacred to Native Americans will be determined by the government that has been responsible for doing everything in its power to destroy Native American cultures” (LaDuke). The characters in the novel The Round House by Louise Erdrich exemplify the issues that Native Americans are still dealing with today. This can be seen in the way characters deal with alcoholism and diseases, domestic violence and overcrowding of households. The novels shows how the historical traumas that Native Americans have experienced still affect them today. One of the greatest issues on Native American reservations is the high alcoholism and disease rate. The underlying alcoholism can be seen in Mooshum. …show more content…
The first time they experience alcohol they are just testing it like innocent teenagers do, but it develops into something more. They then go on to drink constantly and dependently. The teen suicide rate is 150% higher than anywhere else in the country (Re-Member.org). Many of these suicides involve drugs and alcohol. The death of Cappy takes place because of alcohol “The guys passed the bottle, then passed it back to me and I drank deep, to put myself out” (Erdrich). After the boys pass the bottle, they become so intoxicated that Cappy drives the car off the road and flips it. The addiction to alcohol and the feeling of losing control ultimately ends the life of Cappy and injures the others. The need to forget their lives trumps living life in the actual moment. According to the Oglala tribe “approximately 85% of Lakota families deal with alcoholism” (Oglala.com). Children may deal with an alcoholic parent themselves as “approximately 58% of Lakota families are raising their grandchildren” and if their parents do not give them up, they deal with living with an alcoholic parent (Hall). The drinking becomes a normality for them, and it is easy to follow in their footsteps. This is the situation for many teens and children on Native American …show more content…
According to DomesticViolenceShelters.org “84 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, and more than half have endured this violence at the hands of an intimate partner” (DVS.org). This is a sobering statistic that is exemplified by Whitey and Sonia in the novel. When Whitey is upset with Sonia, instead of talking things out he drinks and abuses her “There’s no he. It’s just you, baby. Lemme go! The crack of a slap, a cry. Don’t. Please. Joe’s out there” (Erdrich 175). Joe experiences first hand what is a reality for many children on reservations. They see this violence from an early age and learn to either replicate the violence or accept it from others. While domestic violence is an issue all over the world, Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to be abused by a partner (HCN.org). Whitey exemplifies a behavior in the book that is very commonplace on