 "It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it." - Alexie, p. 13 | Greetings, students!
You have just finished reading the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. This was the story of a teenage boy living on an Indian reservation, who bravely makes the decision to attend a white school. I hope you found the story both powerful and thought-provoking.
The book is loosely based on Sherman Alexie's own life. As you read, did you ever wonder just how common Sherman Alexie's portrayal of Indian Reservation life is? What are the "Rez" schools like? Is there really that much alcoholism in Native Americans? How accurate are the "rules" the Rez kids live by?
During this WebQuest, we'll consider Alexie's portrayal of the Spokane Indian Reservation and Junior's life. We'll do some research into the life of Spokane Native Americans and think about the accuracy. We'll put ourselves in Junior's shoes and think about what's it like to really be a Native American in today's world.
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