Reflections on Alexie

For my Lit300 class I had to write a reflective essay that compared an aspect of an Indian captivity narative to a modern example. After reading Alexie's text, "Because my Father Always Said he was the Only Indian who saw Jimmi Hendrixs Play The Star Spangled Banner," I came across an interesting connection.

Many of the texts I read in Lit 300 were written from the perspective of Europeans (members of the dominant culture) interacting with Natie Americans (members of the subordinate culture). Alexie's text gave me opportunity to read the perspective of a Native American and his take on American culture.

One of the things that I wrote about in my essay is Alexie's use of the words "war paint." He writes, “my father is dressed in bell-bottoms and flowered shirt, his hair in braids, with red peace signs splashed across his face like war paint” (Alexie 317). It is interesting that Alexie refers to the peace signs as “war paint” because doing so probably makes sense to not only him because of his Native background, but also to members of dominant society because Indians have been represented as “warriors” throughout history. This idea is reinforced by Alexie because he writes that newspaper and magazine headlines described a picture of his father as “One Warrior Against War.” It is cliché that Alexie’s Native American father is labeled “warrior” but texts such as the captivity narratives have shaped these beliefs.

My LIT 300 professor thinks it is just ironic that Alexie uses the term "war paint," but I still stand my belief that he also does so as a way to represent his story in a way that people already understand.