Sherman Alexie A Native American Writer

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Sherman Alexie has made a name for himself as a prolific contemporary Native American writer, taking inspiration from his own past and experiences with modern Indian life. While there are many enduring themes throughout Alexie's writings: Native identity, modern reservation life, alcohol abuse etc. when it comes to his collection War Dances, the most apparent motif is fatherhood. Community and family are the heart of Native American cultures, with the father archetype holding great honor and expectation. However with alcohol abuse, poverty, and school drop rates running rampant through Native American reservations it is no surprise that more and more Native children are growing up in broken homes. In an alarming poll by the Kids Count Data Center, a national census, in 2011 out of 355,000 polled 53% live in single-parent homes. The lack of a leader, a strong male role model is a major factor in many of the abysmal statistics facing modern reservation children. The despotism of Native American culture has always been based on the deprivation of power, status, equality, and home. This presents a paucity of male dominance, many of these men feel helpless in a society where they have no real identity. They are forced to live in the idea they have no personal potential so it is understandable why the majority of Indian males may feel inadequate and unable to care for their families. Alexie himself struggled in a home with an alcoholic and neglectful father, and like many Native children he almost gave into a similar chain of abuse and alcoholism. This is what inspires him to write, to expose the corroding inner workings of the modern Native peoples brought on by centuries of autocracy. Oppression and the idea of fatherhood is a common ... ... middle of paper ... ... by Race." KIDS COUNT Data Center. Annie E. Casey Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. . Johnson, Deborah J. "Father Presence Matters: A Review of the Literature." National Center on Fathers and Families. NCOFF, 22 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. . Russell, Jacob. "WAR DANCES: Sherman Alexie." Jacob Russell's Barking Dog. N.p., 16 Aug. 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. . Sherman Alexie on Living Outside Borders. Dir. Bill Moyers. Perf. Sherman Alexie. YouTube. Moyers & Company, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. .

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