There are several themes in the
book:
In the book Arnold is looking for his identity, he does not belong in the reservation and transfers schools. His sister Mary is also looking for her identity, running away from the reservation with her newfound boyfriend. This is all because of what happened to the native Americans in the past. This is what the documentary is all about, their identity was stolen from them. They had to adapt to a new area and a new culture, almost having to give up their own habits and culture as a whole.
Hopes and dreams
In the book Arnold throws a book
into Mr. P’s face. Later, he comes to talk to Arnold why he did it, Arnold
feels bad about hitting Mr. P in the face with a book but not about the reason
why he did it. Mr. P understands this and he is ‘proud’ of Arnold for standing
up, for noticing the bad conditions and later doing something to improve his
situation. He also tells him about hope and how the teachers were supposed to
‘kill the Indian save the child’. He tells Arnold that the further away he goes
from the reservations the closer he will come to the hope he is searching for.
In the documentary the hope is
taken away from the native Americans by deporting them to Oklahoma and putting
them in reservations. They are limited in what they can do for example they’re
not allowed to hunt anymore. By limiting the native Americans they also limit
their dreams and hopes for the future.
Home
In the book Arnold does not know
where to feel home anymore. He goes to school at Reardan but lives in the
reservation. He is constantly torn between the two worlds he lives in.
In the documentary the native
Americans are constantly told where they’ll be going to. They lose the feeling
of home completely by being ‘thrown’ all over the country. They are longing for a place to call home.
Education
In the book Arnold switches schools. Arnold was very mad at the quality of education in the reservation, because he got his mother’s book and he did not like it. So he decided to take a leap of faith and wander into the world of the white people. He attended Reardan, where the quality of education was much better.
In the documentary the children of
the native Americans are forced to go to special schools. Where they were
taught to behave like white people and to
give up their culture.
Race
In the book it is about the
difference between two races. The native Americans and the white people. The
native Americans don’t get any respect and are frowned upon. Within the native
American tribes there is a lot of poverty and the resources aren’t goof enough.
This is also explained in the documentary. Because the resources were so bad
the native Americans got in so much trouble, that is why many people are
alcoholics
Traditions
and customs
In the book there was this festival
called the ‘powwow’. This is an annual feast where they dance and drink
alcohol. There are special outfits that they would wear and a white man who
came to Arnold’s grandmother’s funeral believed that she was a powwow dancer.
In the documentary the government
did everything to make native Americans forget their traditions and customs.
They were forced to go to special schools and the teachers were taught to ‘kill
the Indian to save the child’. They had to make them forget where they came
from and what their culture meant to them.
Poverty
In the book Arnold and his family
are very poor and just like the rest of the tribe. This has a huge impact on
his life. It is one of the main reasons that he wants to go to Reardan to
escape the poverty. Here he finds himself among all the rich white kids and he
stands out because he doesn’t have designer clothing and a proper backpack.
In the documentary the native
Americans were not supported financially by the government because they had
Indian Casinos. The government assumed that the native Americans were rich but
in reality this is not the case at all. They spend all their money on gambling.
Literature and writing
In the book Arnold wants to be a
comic book writer and his sister is writing a romantic novel about her own
life. Arnold thinks that she is searching for her hope and trying to rewrite
her life. Arnold also reads in the library with his friend Gordy.
In the documentary there are
treaties which are written down in an agreement. There is also this man who is
traumatized by the way he was treated as a native American and his wife
encourages him to write a book about it.
Mortality
In the book Arnold loses 3 people.
His grandmother was hit by a drunken driver, his sister was so drunk that she
passed out at a party and burned alive because the house caught on fire and
lastly a good friend of his father got shot in the face by a drunk man. A
reoccurring theme here is alcohol.
In the documentary a lot of people
died. In the trail of tears, they were hanged, tortured and them having a life
was prevented as a whole.
