Sherman Alexie

I enjoyed these poems because it was something different from the normal stuff we read so far and because I've always had an interest in Native American culture. Each one of the works were interesting in there own ways but one thing they all had in common was the mention of white people or as some refer to the dominant culture. In "Evolution" I got the idea this was referring to the way Indians were constantly giving away there land and worldly possessions to the white man and when nothing was left to give but their lives we took them too. What gave me that impression was the pawn shop references and Buffalo Bill being the white man in charge. The only impression I could get out of "Scalp Dance" was a direct reference to Indian cultures because the woman in the picture seemed to be telling me about the culture of Indian life. "How to Write" gave me a distinct idea he was referring to the mingling of races between white women's desire for Indian men and Indian men's desire to have a Indian women. The word hero is the key word used in the passage because Indians believe a hero is a white/Indian mixed person meaning they would be brave and noble and not suppose to cry in front of anyone, but themselves. I was surprised by the reference of Indian women who love Indian men must be half breed from horse culture; therefore I thought that was a rather harsh statement about the women from your own race.