Paige O’Connor
Professor Geer
English 110
30 January 2015
Misunderstood Native American
In this paper, we will be discussing the book, “The absolutely true story of a part time Native American”. This book really infiltrates the meaning of the term “other”. It is about a part time Native American, named Arnold, who seeks for a better like than what he suffers through. This book is quite amazing on how it depicts the Native American life and its upbringing. Arnold goes to a Reardan, a white school, to get out of the reservation. The white people in Reardan make Arnold feel out of place and different. The Native Americans represent the “Other” in the book because through the years they have made a reputation for themselves. What people do not understand is the Native American culture has just different than a white person’s culture. The book really constitutes the idea of racism. I thought this book really clarified the history of Native Americans, the racism, and the term “other”.
This book is about a Native American who is raised to be a full time Native American. The reason he is treated differently was because of their history of the new world. Native Americans are still being taken advantage today. Native Americans must fight just to get ownership of land they were promised years ago. In the past history, they have had a much higher appreciation for the land and what it can provide for them. They attached a spiritual component to their land and, as a result, approach the relinquishment or sale of those lands with great apprehension. Indian removal act is an example of a devastating moment for the Native Americans. On the trip to Missouri, 5,000 Cherokee died as a result of their journey and forced out of their land. (Americans Indians today, n.d.) Being treated differently and being forced of their land made them very bitter and grow to hate Americans. It was very unfair that we treated the Native Americans awful, and in the book Arthur is treated very terribly. People all around the world treat Native Americans because of their color. Racism far exceeds just black and white or even Hispanic. It is often forgotten that the American Indian has experienced a great deal of racism in the United States. Although many people overlook or excuse the behavior of the settlers, this was the one of the Indian person before Christopher Columbus (Americans Indians today, n.d.). It seems that Native American are subjected to racism in a country they called their own but they do. According to the US department of Justice, by its own admission crimes against Native American go unpunished. The DOJ states that some of the problem is reporting of crimes by Indians but they also admit that police officers nationwide are not equipped with the knowledge needed to fight crime within Native tribes (Americans Indians today, n.d.). Many times because tribal members live on reservations local police are reluctant or discouraged from responding to crimes against natives. In affect this leaves many tribes policing themselves that can get difficult because of tribal ties. In the book, there is a lot of racism that goes on towards Arnold. I thought the book really represents real racism that goes on. These days’ people really don’t know the side of Native Americans and what they go through when it comes to racism. The term “other” is really relevant in this book. Native Americans have always been pictured as violent, drug stricken, and not trustworthy. This book shows the different side of Native Americans. Being treated to the “other” has been a common history flaw. The history of people have made a reputation for themselves and how other people treated them. Like Hitler treated the Jews really poorly because of their culture (Inside the Third Reich). The book describes the Native American as the “other” because he goes to a white school where Caucasian people treat their people differently. I really like the book because even if Arthur is