Indian Education

The story’s title introduces one of its key themes: Systemic Racism in the Indigenous Education System. Historically, Indigenous education in the United States sought to efface Indigenous culture by erasing tribal customs and language, forcing children to assimilate to mainstream (i.e., white) American culture. Beginning in the 19th century, the federal government established Indigenous boarding schools designed to “civilize” Indigenous children by forcibly removing them from their families and communities. This often resulted in a traumatic disconnect between Indigenous people who left the reservation and their friends and families back home. 

Though “Indian Education” is set in the late 20th century and does not address this historical context explicitly, the lingering cultural legacy of these institutions remains clear: It is no accident, for example, that Betty Towle is a missionary, as many boarding schools were run by Christian missionaries. More broadly, Junior’s teachers treat him with condescension, prejudice, and even outright hostility, which reflects how the educational system perpetuates cultural erasure rather than empowerment. Junior’s time at the reservation school is marked by persecution: He is bullied by both his classmates and his teachers, especially Towle, who exhibits a particular sadism and a deep prejudice toward her students. When Junior’s parents confront her about trying to make him cut his braids, Alexie describes her response as follows: “‘Indians, indians, indians.’ She said it without capitalization. She called me ‘indian, indian, indian.’” (287). Junior’s observation that she does not use “Indian” as a proper noun transforms the word into a racial slur; she is not only criticizing Indigenous Americans for perceived “disrespect” (itself a form of racist entitlement) but also dehumanizing them by stripping the word of the capitalization afforded to personal and collective names. In an educational context, the exchange stands out as an instance of an authority figure using language to degrade rather than to instruct. 

Even seemingly benign encounters reveal how prejudice shapes Junior’s education. For example, Mr. Schulter advises Junior to become a doctor, explaining, “[Y]ou can come back and help the tribe. […] [Y]ou can heal people” (288). Though this advice seems supportive, it places the burden of addressing the many problems that affect Junior’s community on those experiencing them; this erases the systemic roots of those problems and relieves those with the most power to address poverty, racism, etc., of the responsibility of doing so. Similarly, the Chicano teacher’s assumption that Junior is drunk when he collapses due to undiagnosed diabetes reflects stereotypes of Indigenous youth while ignoring the systemic factors that play into substance use. This incident causes Junior to reflect that “Sharing dark skin doesn’t necessarily make two men brothers” (291), a remark that demonstrates how deep biases against Indigenous people run, even among other marginalized groups. The racism that Junior faces is not incidental but systemic, built into the social and educational institutions he navigates. 

The title thus serves as an ironic commentary on what “education” really means for an Indigenous child growing up caught between reservation life and white institutions. While the vignettes that comprise the story are organized by grade school levels, Alexie does not devote much time to Junior’s academic education but instead focuses on formative experiences that take place outside the classroom. Each of these vignettes constitutes a “lesson.” In first grade, for example, Junior learns to defend himself from bullies. In second and third grade, he experiences the anti-Indigenous racism that will characterize his dealings with white society. In fourth grade, he becomes aware of the deep pain that surrounds him. In fifth grade, he finds purpose as a member of his school’s basketball team while seeing his cousin go down a very different path; the juxtaposition underscores how precarious existence is for Indigenous Americans. In sixth grade, he learns that he must be proactive and defensive to survive in the “white world.” In seventh through ninth grade, Junior learns to navigate the world beyond the reservation. Finally, in 10th through 12th grade, Junior increasingly grapples with the gap between his own success and the realities of life on the reservation. 

Taken as a whole, these lessons emphasize themes of Trauma and Resilience in Indigenous Communities and The Tension Between Cultural Identity and Assimilation. Other characters respond to the inherited trauma (and ongoing reality) of anti-Indigenous racism in self-destructive ways: Junior’s father and Steven Ford turn to substance use, and Wally Jim dies by suicide. As outsiders to the cycles of trauma and despair that pervade reservation life, the police cannot understand why a man with “No traces of alcohol in his blood, good job, wife and two kids” would deliberately crash his car (291). However, Junior and his community understand all too well the hopelessness that Wally must have felt: “[W]hen we look in the mirror, see the history of our tribe in our eyes, taste failure in the tap water, and shake with old tears, we understand completely” (292). Centuries of genocide, cultural erasure, and generational poverty take their toll: Suicide rates are higher among Indigenous Americans than any other racial/ethnic group in the US (Weinstock, Cheryl Platzman. “Native American Communities Have the Highest Suicide Rates, Yet Interventions Are Scarce.” CNN, 26 Jan. 2024). Wally Jim’s suicide is not an isolated incident but a symptom of collective suffering. 

Moreover, the story’s conclusion suggests that even those who manage to “escape” the often-harsh conditions of reservation life do so at a price. Junior’s “stoic” demeanor in his graduation photo, as well as the juxtaposition of this portrait with his classmates’ in the reservation newspaper, implies that his education and academic success have distanced Junior from his friends and family. The story thus returns to the problem it first poses when Towle demands that Junior cut his hair: How does one maintain ties to one’s heritage while participating in a system bent on destroying that heritage?

Amid this bleak social setting, however, Alexie also emphasizes moments of resilience. Junior never entirely assimilates into white society. He adjusts his behavior in order to survive, and he thrives academically. His success is complicated and isolating, but it is not a betrayal of his identity. Alexie ultimately presents education as a double-edged sword: a pathway to claiming agency and self-determination, but at the potential cost of alienating a student from their cultural roots.