Sherman Alexie Happy Trail

Although it is a short piece, the text “Happy Trails” by Sherman Alexie is a multilayered and fascinating representation of Native American Indian history and culture. Early in the work, after introducing his relative Hector in its first paragraph, the narrator reflects on the man and then makes a general statement about the nature of all Indian men that alludes to the overall meaning of the entire text. He states, “Indian men live wild-horse lives, running beautiful and dangerous, until some outside force—some metaphorical cowboy—breaks them” (Alexie 1). Because it appears early in the text it would be easy as readers to miss the importance of this statement, but this moment signifies a notion being illustrated and alluded to throughout the entire work.

What the narrator is saying is Indians could often blame confrontation or tensions outside of themselves for their losses.

The history between literal cowboys and Indians proves to have broken Indian culture. The narrator mentions his “favorite uncle was only one degree away from slavery, the Indian Wars, the Battle of Wounded Knee and genocide” (Alexie 2-3), and makes perfectly clear that some form of real violence is the reason for loss of his people, their culture and now Hector. He utters, “I imagined that all my aunts, uncles, and cousins, [and his father] were buried in Hector’s empty coffin” (Alexie 3). Hector and his grave become a symbol in the story for the “broken” life and culture of the Indian man. However, every group has aspects it’s not proud of. Though Indians could blame tensions between whites for their losses the narrator tells the story through an authentic lens and admits its own people could be partially responsible. Now, years later, although racism and prejudice still exist the white man is not necessarily primarily destroying the culture or the people. This is why he says, ‘metaphorical’ versus

literal.
The ‘metaphorical cowboy’ in the statement alludes to opinions that follow this group and the topic of the story—Hector. No one knows for sure much of the real histories of its people, because those who were there have been lost and those now are continuing to be lost due to some other form of tension or violence. The narrator’s assertion, “Hector was murdered by another Indian” (Alexie 3), suggests the outside force may be coming from within the group. But the important thing the narrator and the text make clear is the need to preserve the culture by continuing the stories for and about its people. He suggests, in Indian culture, “Everything—our worst losses and our greatest beauty—is deemed sacred and necessary” (Alexie 1). The narrator, as an Indian man himself, is explaining within the culture and living amongst the people the lives of Indians are beautiful until tensions change or motivate them to sway from their culture or heritage. Each Indian man has a wild, striking story to tell and trail to leave. It is obvious at the end of the text that the narrator himself is grappling with the ‘metaphorical cowboy’ but intends to keep his story alive.