The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

Summary: Life on the Indian reservation isn’t easy. Just starting high school, Junior realizes that he wants something better for himself. He wants out of the life that had destroyed the spirits of so many people before him. He wants to attend a school where the textbooks are current, not hand-me-downs. In an effort to take steps to make a new life for himself, Junior asks his parents if he can attend the “white” school 22 miles away. They agree. 

Now Junior is trying to find out where he belongs. At school, he is the only Indian student, and at home, he is treated as a traitor. How can he make everyone happy without risking his own future?


Reaction: Junior is a budding artist and often draws cartoons of his life. Drawings are throughout the book during important events and when he is trying to figure out his own life. 
The masturbation talk is a little off-putting, but then the reader has to remember that the book is being narrated by a 14-year-old boy. It is natural. 
It is also heartbreaking as Junior begins to lose some of the most important people in his life. Junior’s decision to change his own life for the better showed him how brave he could really be. 
Readers of all ages can relate to the troubles Junior endures as he attempts to find his place in the world. This book also brings attention to the lives of Native American people living on reservations. While it may seem like Junior’s experiences are exaggerated, they do represent the life author Sherman Alexie lived. It’s hard not to cheer Junior on as he finds joy in basketball, his family, and his friends, new and old.


Connections: 

Activities: Junior lives on an Indian reservation. Have students research the different reservations in the area of Spokane. 

Junior and his sister e-mail back and forth. Write an e-mail to Mary as Junior describing what life has been like on the rez and what he has been experiencing at school.

Draw a cartoon representing a chapter you’ve read.

Draw a cartoon representing an event from your own life.

Compare the schools on Native American reservations to that of black schools in segregated states. How are they different? How are they the same?

Older students can discuss the claims of sexual harassment against Alexie and determine if they believe his American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book (2008) should have been rescinded. Students can use the following article to help support their claim: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=aila-rescinds-sherman-alexies-2008-ya-book-year-award

Article: Pyrillis, R. (n.d.). Sorry for not being a stereotype. Retrieved February 4, 2019, from https://www.manataka.org/page392.html 

Other Books with Native American Protagonist: Bruchac, J. (2005). Code talker : a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two. New York: Dial Books.

Gansworth, E. (2013). If I ever get out of here : a novel with paintings. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.

American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner List: https://ailanet.org/activities/american-indian-youth-literature-award/


Awards:

National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2007)

Odyssey Award (2009)
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction (2008)

California Young Readers Medal for YA (2010)