The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“‘Elbow Room’ Rewrite”

In ‘this’ activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of King’s claims regarding land ownership by rewriting the lyrics to the Schoolhouse Rock song “Elbow Room” to reflect King’s perspective.

According to King, struggles over the ownership or control of land are at the heart of most conflicts between Indigenous peoples and the larger society. Watch this Schoolhouse Rock video “Elbow Room.” (You can also read the lyrics here.) How do you imagine King would react to this song? For this activity, you will demonstrate your understanding of King’s perspective on conflicts over land by rewriting the lyrics to the song “Elbow Room.”

• Change any lyrics that do not agree with King’s perspective, but try to preserve the original song’s meter and rhyme (including internal rhyme.)
• You may preserve any lyrics from the original that agree with King’s perspective.
• Share your revised lyrics by posting them in the location your instructor indicates.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity works particularly well as a partner or small group activity, but it can certainly be completed individually. Students can post their written or printed lyrics in the classroom or electronically on a class website. After reading each other’s lyrics, students can comment on each other’s work or indicate their selection for the most accurate, most creative, and other categories. Extra credit might be offered to students who record and post their versions of this song or who are willing to perform them live in class. There is an instrumental version of the song available here, if you would like to offer students this opportunity.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with theory of mind learning differences may benefit from support in understanding how the song’s perspective differs from King’s. These students might first review their earlier discussion of the song (or participate in such a discussion if students have not yet encountered this song). Students can create a comparison/contrast t-chart that juxtaposes the song’s perspective with King’s. Students who benefit from strategies with written expression might begin by writing a paragraph that expresses King’s perspective. Then, they can strike through any of the song’s lyrics that conflict with King’s perspective and replace these lines with a prose version of the line. Finally, they can edit their work to match the original song’s meter and rhyme.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In the book’s final chapter, King discusses the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Choose one of these two land deals to use as the basis for your response.

• To what extent does this land deal depart from problematic earlier patterns? (topic sentence)
• Choose the 3 strongest pieces of supporting evidence from King’s earlier discussions of the history of land conflicts. Analyze and discuss these pieces of evidence in support of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how King’s portrayal of this land deal supports his thematic concern with The Role of Land in Indigenous-White Conflicts.

2. King defines sovereignty for tribal peoples as encompassing the rights to “levy taxes, set the criteria for citizenship, control trade, and negotiate agreements and treaties” (Chapter 8). Choose one of these aspects of sovereignty to use as the basis for your response.

• To what extent do American and Canadian tribes currently enjoy this sovereign right? (topic sentence)
• Investigate at least 3 pieces of evidence, drawn from authoritative contemporary sources, that support your analysis. Analyze and discuss these examples in defense of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the current state of this particular aspect of tribal sovereignty supports or refutes King’s concerns over The Fragility of Indigenous Peoples’ Sovereignty.

3. Thomas King’s books often use humor as a tool of resistance.

• In what sense is this book’s title, The Inconvenient Indian, an example of King using humor in this way? (topic sentence)
• Determine which 3 examples throughout the text offer the strongest supporting evidence. Analyze and discuss these examples in support of your argument.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on the relationship of the idea of “inconvenience” to King’s larger thematic concerns with The Construction of Race, The Role of Land in Indigenous-White Conflicts, and The Fragility of Indigenous Peoples’ Sovereignty.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. King contends that the popular understanding of Indigenous peoples and their history is really a simulacrum. In what sense does this term apply to Indigenous peoples and Indigenous history? How does King suggest that this phenomenon occurred, and what prevents people from having a more accurate understanding? What examples does King offer to support his assertion, and what examples might you add? Write an essay about the construction of Indigenous identity and history by the larger culture, exploring the extent to which these are really just a simulacrum. Comment on how this relates to King’s larger thematic concern with The Construction of Race. Support your analysis with evidence drawn from throughout King’s text, making sure to cite any quoted material and material drawn from outside sources.

2. In recent years, historians have shown an interest in broadening the definition of historiography. What are the characteristics of Indigenous historiography, and how would the traditional Western academic approach to history need to broaden its scope to encompass this approach? How does King’s work either fit into or depart from traditional Indigenous approaches to history? How does his use of specific techniques—for instance, personal anecdotes—define his style and separate it from more traditional Western historiography? Write an essay that analyzes King’s approach to history and contextualizes his approach within both the Indigenous and traditional Western approaches to history. Comment on the validity of King’s approach and the value it has to the larger culture’s understanding of history. Support your analysis with evidence drawn from throughout King’s text, making sure to cite any quoted material and material drawn from outside sources.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which phrase is the most accurate description of King’s style?

A) Animated and enthusiastic

B) Sardonic and bitter

C) Objective and formal

D) Conversational and personal

2. Which word is the most accurate description of the book’s organization?

A) Chronological

B) Thematic

C) Syllogistic

D) Comparison and contrast

3. Which role does King see himself playing in The Inconvenient Indian?

A) Storyteller

B) Historian

C) Critic

D) Pundit

4. What do King’s rhetorical uses of George Armstrong Custer and James Earle Fraser have in common?

A) Both are used as examples of Americans romanticizing the tragic outcomes of Westward expansion.

B) Both are figures King uses to illustrate the American government’s attempt to eliminate tribal peoples and their cultures.

C) Both are used as examples of how Indigenous identity is reconstructed into a simulacrum by the dominant society.

D) Both are figures whom King uses to illustrate the historical roots of racism against Indigenous peoples.

5. What do King’s rhetorical uses of Andrew Jackson and Richard Pratt have in common?

A) Both are used as examples of Americans romanticizing the tragic outcomes of Westward expansion.

B) Both are figures King uses to illustrate the American government’s attempt to eliminate tribal peoples and their cultures.

C) Both are used as examples of how Indigenous identity is reconstructed into a simulacrum by the dominant society.

D) Both are figures whom King uses to illustrate the historical roots of racism against Indigenous Americans.

6. Which plan was not primarily aimed at changing Indigenous cultural norms?

A) Residential schools

B) The Dawes Act

C) The Indian Act

D) Praying towns

7. Which plan is most similar to Roosevelt’s Indian Reorganization Act?

A) The Treaty of Fort Laramie

B) The General Allotment Act

C) The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

D) The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement

8. What does King see as the motivation for attacks on Indigenous sovereignty?

A) Inaccurate beliefs about Indigenous culture

B) Anti-Indigenous racism

C) The capitalist drive to control land

D) Governmental concerns over national security

9. Which term is not a governmental policy that King discusses in this book?

A) Annulment

B) Termination

C) Assimilation

D) Extermination

10. What is the primary purpose of the personal anecdotes that King employs?

A) They demonstrate that racism against Indigenous peoples has limited his opportunities.

B) They demonstrate that he understands the feelings of historical Indigenous people.

C) They demonstrate that he has the academic authority to discuss Indigenous history.

D) They demonstrate that the issues he discusses impact his everyday life.

11. From King’s perspective, what do modern attacks on casino gambling on Indigenous land and historical actions like the Removal Act and the Indian Act have in common?

A) They are motivated by racism.

B) They erode tribal sovereignty.

C) They erase Indigenous identity.

D) They are thinly-veiled land grabs.

12. Which of the following would King most likely agree with?

A) For Indigenous peoples, race is not as relevant today as in the past.

B) For Indigenous peoples, race is more important today than in the past.

C) Race is a social construction that creates an artificial hierarchy.

D) Race is a biological reality that gives rise to varying cultures.

13. Which of his thematic concerns does King use the Lakota to illustrate?

A) The Canadian and American governments have both pursued assimilationist policies.

B) The popular image of what it means to be Indigenous is largely a simulacrum.

C) The dominant society continues to threaten tribal sovereignty.

D) Conflicts between Indigenous people and white people are always about land.

14. Which anecdote provides an early example of what King will later discuss as the simulacrum of Indigenous history and identity?

A) The plaque commemorating the 1861 massacre in Alamo, Indiana

B) The public reaction to the occupation of Alcatraz

C) The public condemnation of AIM’s militancy

D) The Supreme Court case Bryan v. Itasca County

15. Which two impulses does King use as organizing principles for his discussion of attempts to break up reservations?

A) Racism and cultural imperialism

B) Extermination and assimilation

C) Greed and philanthropy

D) Annulment and termination

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is King’s purpose in writing The Inconvenient Indian?

2. How does King’s approach to writing about history differ from most standard histories?