The Lone Ranger And Tonto.......

Throughout history Native Americans have been oppressed by the white man. Prejudice, false promises, domination, and betrayal by the white man greatly influenced and shaped the mannerisms and lifestyle of modern Indians. As they succumb to addiction and the ravages of poverty and unemployment, the loss of tradition, culture, and identity is evident as is the palpable anger and steady demise of a formerly strong people.

Alexie depicts the reality of modern Indians on the reservation nimbly demonstrating the loss of tradition to addiction. "In a Drug Called Tradition," Alexie gives examples of how alcohol and drugs have replaced customs and mores:

"Thomas-Builds-the-Fire hosts the second largest party in reservation history, using the money he received from some land that he inherited" (12).

Victor, the narrator was asked by Junior if he had some magic mushrooms and Junior replied "No, I've got a new drug" (13). They headed out to Benjamin Lake to try this new drug: "It'll be very fucking Indian. Spiritual shit, you know?" Victor confided in Thomas (14).

It was their belief that these drugs would induce visions essentially drawing them back to their spiritual roots. However, they were misguided given that spiritual visions are a western concept (Daniel Grassian, Understanding Sherman Alexie, 60).

In "A Train Is an Order of Occurrence Designed to Lead to Some Result," Thomas' grandfather watched his family and tribe surrender to alcoholism.

He lost his job, resulting in isolation from his family and friends:

"Samuel lived on the reservation, alone, for as long as he could, without money or company" (135). In the mean time, all his friends had died and all the younger people on the reservation had no interest for his stories. A disenchanted Samuel resorted to drinking in an effort to find the wisdom and courage to face his defeated existence. This fact is driven home in the following manner: "At the halfway point of any drunken night, there is a moment when an Indian realizes he cannot turn back toward tradition and that he has no map to guide him toward the future" (134).

In addition to addiction, anger is another theme that runs throughout the novel. In "Every Little Hurricane" violent tendencies are displayed by the reservation Indians. A tribal New Year's Eve party becomes the venue of a fistfight between Victor's uncles:

"The two Indians raged across the room at each other. One was tall and heavy, the other was short, muscular. High-pressure and low-pressure fronts" (2).

These Indians might have been fighting against themselves, but the issues for which they fought for represent much more than a one-on-one battle. Years of oppression have built up anger inside these Native Americans. The "hurricane" is simply a release of years of animosity. It starts as something small, a fight between two of the Indians in the tribe, others see, and recollect their own unfortunate incidents when they themselves were ridiculed or disrespected, and soon there are multiple battles being fought amongst tribes:

"But the storm that had caused their momentary anger had not died. Instead, it moved from Indian to Indian at the party, giving each a specific, painful