The Rez Road Follies

Introduction

It is not often that one gets to read a captivating, funny and honest book about life in the Indian conservation. However, Jim Northrup has managed to do just that in the “The Rez Road”. His writing style is easy to follow with no technical words and hard vocabulary. When reading this book, one feels engaged, like he or she is actually conversing with a friend. The book is a memoir about Jim’s life and he uses the character of Luke Warmwater. It talks about his childhood, school years, the war and family life. Although the book is funny and full of humor, it does not fail to raise the serious issues faced by the Indians in the conservancy and the challenges faced by the Native Americans in general. Some of these issues include poverty in the reserve, racism and the politics in the Native American community. One of the most prominent themes in the book is family. Northrup’s importance of the family is clearly seen as he narrates the stories in this book. He believes that family stories help in creating and maintaining a strong family bond.

Discussion

Family in the Native American reserves is not an individual or private affair since one is surrounded by so many people. Most of the families have extended families and there is a close bond between them. It is no wonder then, that Luke felt the loss when he was separated from his family at a tender age and he was taken to a boarding school. There are many benefits of belonging to a large family. Families in the reserve have close bonds often sharing the good moments in their life and helping each other in times of tragedies and sorrow. Such a moment is described in the book when Luke’s son attempts to commit suicide. The war caused a lot of suffering and those who actually survived it actually had to live with many negative and horrifying thoughts and emotions as they remembered their days in the war. One’s family was important in helping individuals overcome this trauma. Family is seen as a gift and children are welcomed by everyone in the community. The community rejoices when Luke becomes a grandfather, and they considered an almost elder. This is a big deal because elders are regarded with the highest esteem in the community and everyone is expected to respect them.

A person’s identity is shaped by their families and families are highly esteemed. The way parents bring up their children and take care of their families is a symbol of their wisdom. That is why Luke is considered an almost wise elder when he becomes a grandfather. During the early days when education was not widespread in the Native American community, children were taken to boarding schools at a very tender age so that they could learn the ways and the language of the white people. This separation of the child from his family had negative consequences since children often forgot their tradition, especially their language. The community is useful to people because it helps them to maintain their culture and tradition. The traditional customs practiced by the Native Americans are beneficial to the community.

Conclusion

Several people would find this book useful. Some people know very little about Native Americans and some are biased based upon the stereotypical view held by most people. This book gives them a chance to learn something about the community because it talks about the treatment Native Americans receive especially from the immigrant or Caucasian Americans. It would also be useful for people who just want to read for enjoyment since the book contains many jokes and it is relatively easy to read. Some people think that they know about life in the reserve based on the movies they see but this is actually fabricated, and does not depict the reality. However, this book is an honest description about life in the reserve and it will challenge any prior perception held by someone who does not have first hand knowledge of the Native Americans who live in the reserve.