Discussion Questions

Here are some questions to think about and prepare for our class discussion.

• The actual term "Native American" is relatively sparse when compared to "Indian" throughout Alexie's book. Why do you think this is? What does is it say about white society versus Native society? Is it truly a more progressive term, as many view it, or is something less, perhaps tinged by guilt?

• Krupat raises the issue of "Indianness" and how the Native American identity is attached to tradition. Should the Native American identity be dynamic and changeable across time, or is it a static?

• Keeping in mind that Native Americans are still technically colonized, how does this sense get manifested in these stories? Where are some major instances of colonial ideas that we've talked about?

• In the story "Because My Father Always Said He was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play 'The Star Spangled Banner" At Woodstock, Alexie writes, "Now, Indians fight their way to the end, holding onto the last good thing, because our whole lives have to do with survival." In the literal sense, there is a very high mortality rate among Indians living on reservations, so the concept of survival is paramount. However, taken in the postcolonial context, how does this relate to some of the other ideas we've talked about throughout the semester? How does the struggle to keep identity and tradition alive impact Native Americans according to Alexie?

• We see many white characters throughout the stories, many who even seem somewhat sympathetic to the Indian cause or to the Indian characters themselves. What does Alexie's descriptions of these characters and the personalities he writes for them say about his view of the divide between Native and white society?

• The Trial of Thomas Builds-The-Fire is a significant point in the stories in the book. It is a meeting point between an aspect of white society-- the court system-- and an older aspect of Indian culture-- the oral tradition. What can be made of this story, and what becomes of Thomas?

• In both The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and Krupat's essay, the concept of oral tradition is extremely important to Native American history. The written text version of these stories, however, represents the Euro-American (colonizer) form. By having more Native American writers publishing their work, are we stressing the importance of the Native's voice, or is it a form of assimilation?

• Kenneth Lincoln coined the term Native American Renaissance as a reaction to N. Scott Momaday's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel House Made of Dawn, which embraced issues of upholding Native American traditions and the self-aware Native American identity.Was this a reaction to Native American literature or a realization of Native American literature?

• Coulombe writes: “Part of what makes Alexie difficult and fascinating is his elusive, even poetic, prose style.  He rarely expostulates at length, instead he forces to puzzle out the meaning for themselves” (103).  How does this description align with your own experience of reading The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven?  What meanings seem hidden for you, if any?

• In a 2010 interview, Sherman Alexie calls humor “a passport into other people’s cultures.”  Some critics, though, have criticized his use of it, claiming—as Louis Owens does—that it “deflects any ‘lesson in morality.’”  Coulombe, of course, justifies it at some length.  Do you buy Coulombe’s claims or are there moments where—much like Jimmy Many Horses—Alexie seems to make one joke too many, thereby missing opportunities to achieve a more socio-critical end?

• To this end, Coulombe also writes that Alexie “lost the favor of some critics with a brand of humor that ‘made him a star’ rather than garnering respect within the Indian community.”  Does it matter if this is true or not?  What audience does it seem like Alexie is writing for and why?

• With the exception of Xala, I was struggling to think of other occurrences of humor during this semester of postcolonial literature.  Can you think of any?   And if so, how is humor used to achieve postcolonial gains—beyond, perhaps, being a salt-like seasoning for bitter social critique?

• Iron Eyes Cody is just one example of how the media has included Native roles, but had them portrayed by non-Native actors. Often, these Native roles were stereotypes of Native Americans (i.e. the noble savage, the drunk Indian, the crying Indian). Is this a form of colonization? Even though he was Italian-American, Iron Eyes Cody received praise for his activism for Native American civil rights. Is it justified?