How Does Sherman Alexie Reflect The Hardships Of Native Americans?

In Sherman Alexie’s collection of short stories, Alexie purpose in writing stories is to depict how adversities are irreversible to the past, but not the future if you don’t allow it to be. In Alexie short stories they’re all interconnected with each story showcasing the hardships of Native Americans in the 15th century and late 20th century. The Spokane Reservation is the setting that’s connected with each story where Sherman discusses poverty, alcoholism, and isolation from society outsides one reservation. For example, when Junior, Thomas, and Victor was taking the new drugs they were discussing the destruction of the Europeans to the native land, “those blankets they gave us, infected with smallpox”(Alexie 17). The smallpox epidemic killed
many Native Americans in reservation still affects them negatively. However, he makes it aware to the readers that Native Americans continued to dance, “until the ships fall off the horizon” to, “dance until we are tall and strong” (Alexie 17). This is a reference to how even Native Americans were devastated by the invasions of the Europeans they still remained resilient throughout the years. Another aspect Alexie touches on in his short story A Drug Called Tradition is how people dwell on the past and warns Thomas and Junior not to, “show dance” with skeletons (Alexie 21). The skeleton is an allusion to our past and future that are made up of “memories, dreams, and voices” (Alexie 22). Even though, your past skeletons may hinder a person capability they are not necessarily evil, unless you let them be.