Indian Education

Substance use is a prominent motif in “Indian Education,” illustrating how generational trauma shapes behavior and identity in Junior’s community. In fourth grade, Junior describes his father as sobbing in “dark spaces” and drinking “a gallon of vodka a day” (288). While this may be hyperbole, it portrays addiction as part of a cycle of despair, where people turn to substance use to cope with the depressing reality of living with few opportunities to improve their situation. Junior’s peers engage in this self-destructive form of escapism as well. For example, in fifth grade, Junior’s cousin Steven Ford inhales fumes from rubber cement: “His ears rang, his mouth was dry, and everyone seemed so far away. But it felt good, that buzz in his head, all those colors. It was chemistry, biology. It was beautiful” (288). The word choice and timing parallel Junior’s discovery of basketball, but Stephen’s form of “escape” is as fleeting as it is damaging. 

Outsiders, too, recognize the prevalence of substance use on the reservation. However, rather than sparking reflection regarding the systemic roots of the problem, this recognition manifests in harmful stereotypes of Indigenous people. In ninth grade, a teacher assumes that Junior has been drinking after he faints, saying, “I know all about these Indian kids.