Memories

41. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

It is an acclaimed YA book and so I had high expectations and I did like it but I also thought it was a bit over the top.  It felt somewhat unrealistic in the extremes of the highs and the lows.  But I LOVED the artwork and thought it really helped the plot of the story and that it would be a great discussion point for kids.  It is certainly a quick read and there are many parts that I am sure will get it banned but it gave a pretty real portrayal of life on a reservation and the pressure we all feel to break away yet to also conform.

For me it also brought back memories of the road trips my parents and I would take to New Mexico, and one trip particularly when we stopped to watch a chicken pull.  A chicken pull is exactly what it sounds like: two guys on horses, each one takes a wing, and they pull.  The guy with the bigger piece is the winner.  I think I was 15 on this trip and so was all kinds of grossed out, annoyed, and indignant about going to this thing(and everything else).  I remember standing there with my mom and dad and suddenly my mom was hit in the head by some ice.  She ignored it and then it happened again.  Some people behind us were throwing it to show us we were not in the right place.  It was the oddest feeling.  I should have been angry that they hurt my mother right?  Anyone would be.  But I was too embarrassed to be.  Too embarrassed because I knew they were right.  We were white and on the reservation.  The feeling on the reservation is that if this is what the white men gave them then we should let them be.  I can't remember how much longer we stayed, I can remember being scared.  And I can still see clearly the broken bits of ice sparkling in my mom's hair.