The Pow Wow At The End Of The World By Sherman Alexie

Poem Analysis
The poem “The Pow Wow at the End of the World” by Sherman Alexie was published in 1996. Along with being a novelist, short story writer, and filmmaker, Alexie is a talented Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-American poet. He experienced the life of a Native American surrounded by developing American culture as he grew up on a Spokane Indian Reservation. Another work of Alexie’s is his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. The book tells the story of himself as a young native american boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Throughout the book, he faces the challenge of fitting in because he is an outcast. The book intertwines with the poem he wrote as they both speak of forgiveness. It is evident that Alexie is humble and forgives people who have wronged him.
“The Pow Wow at the End of the World” is free verse poem with varying line length and no end rhyme. The repetition throughout the poem is significant as the line “I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall” (Alexie) follows the repeating drum beat at a pow wow. The poem is one stanza, and the sentences run over into multiple lines. This format that blends the message together is like the intertwining of dancers at a Native American pow wow. It can also suggest the chaos and excitement that

occurs throughout the event.
The overall meaning of the poem is suggesting how much it would take for Native Americans to forgive European settlers for destroying their culture.

This relates to current life as the culture of native americans is rarely present due to the destruction of their culture, and the rise of new cultures. The poem mentions The Grand Coulee Dam which is one of the largest concrete structures ever built. As it is near the Spokane Indian reservation, the dam has destroyed the natural habitat of the Indians’ land and their resources. The meaning behind the poem is that the speaker will only “forgive” if their destroyed land is restored, and their loved ones and ancestors are

reunited.
Different types of literary devices are used throughout the poem. For example, the repetition of “I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after . . .” (Alexie). There was a tone shift in the poem from hope to sarcasm every time the author said “after.” Possible sarcastic inferences include when the speaker speaks of forgiveness, considering that it is unrealistic for the Indians to forgive the European settlers. It is also unrealistic that all of the things the Natives “hope” the Europeans will restore, such as the land near their reservation, are illogical. The speaker throughout this poem uses the word “we” to speak for all of Indians who feel mistreated. Imagery is used throughout the poem in order to help the reader visualize the true damage done to the land. Certain details throughout the poem help the idea develop.
The central theme of the poem is loneliness and desertion as the mistreatment of Indians led to this feeling. Because their land was claimed and transformed to carry out the European settlers’ ideas, the Native Americans had less freedom. The poem speaks in a sarcastic tone as it speaks of “forgiveness.” It is challenging for the people of the Spokane tribe to truly forgive as they were taken advantage of year after year.

Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. “The Powwow at the End of the World by Sherman Alexie.” Poetry
Foundation, Poetry Foundation,
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47895/the-powwow-at-the-end-of-the-world.
“Sherman Alexie.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2017,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Alexie.