Reservation Blues #3

     Indian reservations run the say way as out American society. It is similar to a community that are all close together in the way that everyone knows everyone. In the reservation there aren't many things that people don't know about, so gossip probably spreads quickly just like the way that we live. People of the reservation also have simple tasks that they need to complete which is similar to a job in our life.  An example of every body having there own job in the town, Lester says "So many drunks on the reservation" (151). He is talking about how everyone knows the drunk people of the reservation, it is similar to everyone knowing the trash man in the town. He also talks about the man who is supposed to clean up a dead dog. He is talking about the dog that was killed and probably a person that has the job to come and clean up the mess. This is similar to a garbage collector of our time. Everyone knows the mailman that drops off our mail everyday, and this is similar to everyone knows the garbage clean up.  Similar to living in a small community everyone knows everyone just like living one the reservation, and how they operate the same as we do.

     Popularity and getting to be known in the reservation is another issue that will rise up to become a major topic of this book. For example when Checkers and Thomas are talking to Sherman Alexie, they say "But everybody liked us before" (179).  This is important because it shows that it actually matters if the reservation liked them both before. Being known as nice people had an affect on their popularity, and as seen in this conversation between the three people. Discussing issues about the Tribe Council Alexie lets the two that they will not be elected because they aren't known any more.  Another example is between the band members and how Junior and Victor fight with Hawk about Hawk saying they think they're better then him. This whole popularity scheme is a mess, and the unknown fight against the popular.

     In the latest section of the book, we start to learn more details about the Warm Water sisters’ childhood through flashbacks. As determined from the last section, their childhood was full of hardships, as they were extremely poor. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence for many Native American reservations. Checkers recalls a trip to the supermarket when she was a child. She remembers seeing the pity in the “white people’s” eyes, “Those poor Indian kids have to buy their shoes in a supermarket” (137). I personally can’t imagine what that feels like. Through expressing the sense of helplessness and pity that the sisters often experienced, readers can’t help but feel sympathetic. Although I’m not really a fan of the book, I must commend the author for this. He does an excellent job at pulling readers in to feel certain emotions. The quote above just invokes a powerful sense of sympathy that cannot be denied if you have a heart.

     Part of studying different cultures in America is looking at how they interpret the American Dream. Native Americans share in the American Dream just like any other group. For the members of Coyote Springs, this dream consists of making it big as a band. That’s a difficult task in itself but add to that the fact that they are a Native American band. They reach a point when there is no turning back, and the path they choose to follow will determine their fate. As the narrator puts it, “Coyote Springs had only one dream, one chance to choose the correct hand” (220). Not only does this say that they basically ave one shot at making their dream come true, but it brings up the question of fate vs. free will. Some might argue that if they were meant to achieve their dream, they would, and it wouldn’t matter if they chose the right path. But this book is saying that whether they succeed or fail is all up to them. Now the logical part of me agrees with free will but sometimes, things work out in such a way that it’s difficult to pin it on coincidence. Still, the idea that the entire success of their dream could come down to a single decision they make is terribly daunting. When that proverbial fork in the road approaches, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the group. Hopefully their relationships are strong enough to handle the tremendous stress that could come along with such a life altering choice.