Native American Identity as a Result of ColonialismOne of the most profound results of colonialism is the creation of distinctly separate spaces, physically and figuratively, which lead to the development of distinct identities rooted on each side. In Sherman Alexie's novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the challenges of transcending racial, social, and cultural barriers faced by 14-year-old Junior as he leaves his Indian reservation to attend an all-white school reflect the internal complexity and external perceptions of Spokane's modern indigeneity. Alexie uses first-person narration and inner dialogue to describe Junior's exploration and comparison of the white and Indian worlds that leads to his discovery of individual identity in the midst of two homogeneous cultures. Joelle Fraser's interview of Sherman Alexie further reveals the discrepancies inherent in how modern Native American culture is rendered by "colonial" authors in contemporary literature and the barriers to entry faced by Native American authors. By depicting "white" and "Indian" as mutually exclusive identities and profiling individuals at the intersection of these two worlds, both texts challenge socially imposed perceptions of Native American identity that exist as as peripheral colonial constructions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay At the beginning of Alexie's novel, Junior lives on the Wellpinit Reservation and identifies entirely as Spokane Indian. He accepts the seemingly inescapable role assigned to him on the reservation as "the world's biggest retard" (4) given his staggering health problems, lisp, odd body proportions, and sensitive and sensitive behavior. shifted. His self-portrait in the first chapter of the novel depicts a striking, lisping lanky teenager with the satirical caption "ME in all my GLORY". Although he aspires to embody a sense of hope for the future, Junior possesses the self-deprecating attitude projected by everyone around him on the reservation: "I wish I was magic, but I'm actually not as a poor reservation kid living with his poor family on the poor Spokane Indian Reservation” (7). Junior is conditioned to think that because he lives on a reservation, is poor and Indian, he is confined to these roles and limited scope in society. Once Junior decides to transfer to Reardan, the all-white off-reservation school, a majority of the Indians on the reservation despise and harass him, calling him a "white lover", explicitly stating that he is a traitor and a disgrace to the tribe. At the same time, Junior experiences a surprisingly smooth transition to school at Reardan. The brutal rejection of other Indians in his country contrasts greatly with the meaningful relationships formed with white characters such as his classmates Penelope, Gordy, and his basketball coach. On top of this, Junior's decision to transfer schools prompts his sister, Mary-Runs-Away, to spontaneously marry and move to another reservation in Montana. Junior's inner dialogue reveals his shock at the influence he has had on his family and others on the reservation: "Since the establishment of the Spokane Indian Reservation in 1881, no one in my family has never lived anywhere else. We are absolutely tribal. For better or for worse, we won't leave each other»(89). Guilt and confusion arise when Junior realizes that his choice to leave means not only the birth of new opportunities for him, but also the partial death of his indigenous tribe. He now interprets his departure as a rejection of his indigeneity and fears having caused irrevocable changes in his family and social dynamics. The Juniors' identity is directly called into question on his first day at Reardan when he is confronted about his name: "My name is Junior," I say. "And my name is Arnold. It's Junior and Arnold. I am both. »(60 Alexie). At Reardan, it must give up its nickname of cultural reserve and use its official first name, “Arnold”. Junior's dramatic identity division complex is amplified on the basketball court. On the one hand, he is a hero: the oppressed who escaped the impasse and who will create a better future for himself. On the other, he is a traitor. The one who abandoned his dying tribe for his own gain. This is depicted in another cartoon of Junior on the basketball court scoring for Reardan against his former reservation team Wellpinit. On the one hand, he presents himself as a devil despised by the Indians, and on the other as an angel praised by the whites. In each portrait, his facial expression is one of confusion and anxiety. Finally, Junior has an epiphany: “I realized that, of course, I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged to this tribe. But I also belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the basketball tribe. And to the bookworm tribe. And the tribe of designers. And the tribe of chronic masturbators. And the teenage tribe. And the tribe of small-town kids…” (217 Alexie). Junior's perceptions of identity are shattered when he realizes that identity exists in multiplicity rather than binary. He does not have to choose to identify as Spokane or white, the reality is that he embodies a complex identity that encompasses all of his unique characteristics, experiences, and idiosyncrasies. He exists not just in the socially imposed context of the “rez,” but in a much larger tribe that extends across a global society. In an interview with Joelle Fraser, Alexie further comments on the one-dimensional nature of Native American identity imposed by colonialism. . He cites clear examples of inaccurate portrayals of Native Americans throughout literature: “…what I really mean is that we should talk about these books, written about Indians by non-Indians, with honesty and accuracy. These are colonial books. I mean, these are outsider books... These are books written by members of the privileged, the powerful, who are writing about a culture of the colonized” (60). While most literature about Native Americans is written by non-Native people during colonial periods, the representation of Native American culture and identity is dangerously placed in the hands of "colonizers", who have the power to disseminate largely their perceptions in society which, although caused by good intentions, is ultimately a manufactured fantasy and contributes to ideas of a binary racial identity. Alexie argues that too many stereotypes and impressions were cleverly preserved by colonial writers: "You add a few birds and four directions and corn pollen and its Native American literature, when it has nothing to do with daily life Indians. I want my literature to be about the daily lives of Indians” (63). Additionally, he points out that Native American writers themselves are beginning to feel compelled to address the stereotypes of literature in order to satisfy white audiences: "I think most Native American literature is.