Indian Education

“But he wasn’t the warrior. I was. And I chanted It’s a good day to die, it’s a good day to die, all the way down the principal’s office.”

Bullied throughout first grade, Junior learns to stand up for himself when he beats up his tormentor, Frenchy SiJohn. The discovery that reciprocation is the only way to prevent violence sparks a rebellious streak in Junior that intensifies as he grows and this passage links to Indigenous trauma and resistance. “It’s a good day to die” is a Lakota battle cry—the implication being that by fighting back against his bullies, even at a personal cost, Junior is also fighting back against a history of genocide and displacement. The episode thus introduces the theme of Trauma and Resilience in Indigenous Communities.

“Once, she gave the class a spelling test but set me aside and gave me a test designed for junior high students. When I spelled all the words right, she crumpled up the paper and made me eat it.

‘You’ll learn respect,’ she said.”

In second grade, Junior is bullied not by his peers but by his white missionary teacher, Betty Towle, who persecutes him relentlessly due to his independent nature and defiant attitude. Passing a test intended for junior high students shows that Junior is already a gifted student. Indeed, this is what pushes Towle over the edge; his ability to excel even in a system not designed to support him challenges white supremacy, so she takes it as an affront. The episode is thus indicative of the systemic discrimination Junior endures just for being Indigenous—particularly