Indian Killer was a very captivating book and I found myself unable to put it down. From the opening the story had me hook and wanting to know more about John Smith. I wanted to know where his life was going and where he came from. We have an infant Indian boy being adopted by a white, seemingly upper-middle class, couple in Washington. From his young childhood to his adult years he knew he did not fit in the white man’s culture. The loss of Father Duncan made things even worse for him. I believed he battled with conflicts with whom he was and where he belonged. In today society many of the young adults have difficulties dealing with the same issues and they have lashed out and became rebellious. Then there are those like John Smith who repress their emotion until it becomes overwhelming. They do not seek help and become isolated and do not speak to anyone. When they reach that peak they violently react toward themselves and/or others. There is however a story behind the story and that is the conflict between the white man and the Indians. This has been going since the white man first set foot on this land. Our government’s greed for land and the white man’s need for money forced Indians onto reservations. But once valuable natural resources were found on the reservation the government drove them onto even smaller reservations. Those who would refuse to leave were simply killed. And those who moved to the small land provided suffered because of lack of food or medical treatment. Sadly there is not a whole lot that we can do in this generation other than apologies and hope that they would not look bad upon some of us that appreciate there heritage. As the book ended it left me wondering who the killer was. Sherman Alexie in my opinion left the book to open for my taste. I still want to know who the killer was and what tribe John Smith was from. The reason is I do not believe that neither John nor Reggie was the killer.
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It is unfortunate that some Native Americans and other minorities in this country let what happened hundreds of years ago take control of their whole lives. Sure, life may not be as easy sometimes, but when we spend too much times focused on whose wronged us in the past, we give them too much power over our lives. Like my pastor says, holding ill will towards those who hurt us is like if someone drinks poison and hopes the other person dies from it.
ReplyDeleteI also don't believe John or Reggie was the killer, but it did seem that Marie knew who it was. This makes me wonder if it was one of the homeless people or another distant family member besides Reggie doing the killings.
I agree with both of you. The injustices suffered by Native Americans and other minorities by the white men who first entered the United States is unforgivable and most certainly unforgettable. But if our generation is able to learn from these mistakes and try to correct them, then there is little reason to hold ill feelings against anyone. It is hard for me to discuss the topic since I am not a minority, but I can only imagine that the best way for everyone to deal with past pains is to look at the positive advancements our country has made since then.
ReplyDeleteI am still undecided about whom I believe the killer to be. I do not think it was Reggie, but I still have the idea in my head that it was probably John Smith who physically performed the murders, but that it was the Indian spirits doing the ghost dance which drove him to do so. This all may be a bit far-fetched, but that is how I initially read the novel. Alexie certainly does leave it open-ended for the reader.