Reservation Blues

The novel "Reservation Blues" does not describe or deal with real Indians. The real Native Americans were forever destroyed by the government the second that they set foot upon the makeshift reservation. That very second saw the perish of all the age-long values and traditions that, before that moment, defined, raised, and watched over every Indian boy and girl, every Indian husband and wife, and every Indian father and mother. The U.S. government easily and nonviolently accomplished what the army has been struggling to do for many years, it wiped out a whole race of people, turning them into a mindless horde that was of concern to no one. The result were people who were hardly more Indian than you or me, people without culture, morals, or traditions; these people were lost. The only thing they had in common was the color of their skin and nothing else. This paper takes a look at ancient Native American traditions such as: unity, storytelling, communication with nature, and pride in their culture and shows how they were all but absent from this particular reservation and the mindsets of its inhabitants.

The greatest thing that Indians shared is unity. Their culture viewed the tribe as a living and breathing thing, needing every member's cooperation and participation in order to survive. Throughout the years, Indians have always relied on each other for help and support, whether hunting, raising children, or defending their territory. In addition, possessions were shared equally between the members, and everything was done for the benefit of the tribe. On the Spokane reservation there is no such concept as unity. People live for their own good, barely tolerating their own kind. Defying their ancestor's traditions, characters such as Victor and Joseph bully others into submission in order to get what they want or just for fun. Michael White Hawk attacks the band members out of jealousy. After the band starts their public performances, the whole town splits into two groups, one supporting the musicians, the other detesting them. There is no unity to be found anywhere. Same thing goes for support. Not many souls believed in them. "Tribal Chairman David WalksAlong was even more pessimistic about the future of Coyote Springs. "Listen, those Skins ain't got a chance in New York City...Coyote Springs is done for. I'm happy about that.""(227) Even when the band was at their worst moment after the failure in the city and Joseph's suicide, and was planning on leaving the reservation, nobody cared. Members of the tribe were perfectly happy to finally be rid of their own kind, of the same people who they grew up with, and listened to in awe during the first few practices in the abandoned grocery store. The whole concept of unity on the Spokane reservation can be summed up in the following quote. "Now, I know some of you aren't happy with how all this turned out," Big Mom said, "but think of poor Joseph Polatkin. Think of how hard these kids worked. Think of your tribal responsibilities." "Think of getting them off the goddamn reservation," shouted a voice in the back."(304)

Native Americans always had pride. They knew about the ways of the world and about the ways of other cultures, and yet they chose to follow their own rules and customs since the very beginning no matter the interference from others, intentional or unintentional. A real Indian looked upon his tribe with admiration, having pride in belonging to it. The Spokane reservation was the complete opposite. "Welcome to Wellpinit, Population: Variable".(3) People left that reservation regularly for the promise of a better life, the life of white people. They no longer were content with their Indian existence, and wanted everything the white man had. Possessions were no longer for the benefit of the tribe, but trophies of the person's prosperity. Dreams of money had taken hold of the whole tribe. "The tribe had installed a few new slot machines earlier that day, and the Spokanes lined up to play. Dreams of the jackpot."(12) The greatest trophies were the white women. Nothing gave a male more bragging rights than being intimate with one. The Indian women were no longer good enough. "Most of the Spokane Indian women wanted to kick Betty and Veronica off the reservation, but the Indian men lined up every night to listen to the white women's songs."(42) The Indian way of life was just not appealing to Indians anymore. They wanted to be anywhere but there.

Storytelling was the backbone of any Native American culture. It educated and inspired the young and brought pride to the elders. Since the Indians did not believe in written guides, stories served as a medium of transition of culture and traditions from generation to generation. They were funny, sad, emotional, educational, and everything in between. Often the storyteller was one of the oldest and most respected members of the tribe, sharing his experiences with the rest of his people around a campfire. However, on the Spokane reservation, there were no tales at all. There we no community campfires, no eager youths begging the elders for one more story about the coyote or the raven. Only one man, Thomas BuildsFire, still remembered