Primitive culture of Native American by Sherman Alexie.

            The Euro-American discourse of history and literature have no pace for the Native American because all the available history and literature have been written in the perspective of the domineer and ruler. There was no place for the cultural and ritual practices; eagle feather, buffalo, salmon, etc. have no significance. But Alexie describe the primitive culture and depict how much the native has lost. He also reinterpreted history on the perspective of Native American. Though Alexie’s poetry and fiction reactivate pre-Columbian discursive life patterns yet it is naïve to criticize that he tried pull back the native into their primitive culture.

            The ontological position of Euro-American was that the white are the superior and center of the universe and all the things are to be subjugate, destroy and exploit for the progress but the Natives have horizontal relation with nature. Native believed that nothing is to be subjugate, destroy and conquer. Alexie reinterpretation of Jesus, Moses, buffalo, salmon, Columbus, deer and eagle give new significance to the naïve American. Alexie reinterpreted Jesus as that Jesus Christ has already came back and again crucified. He called himself crazy horse and didn’t tell about his third attempt. All the things gave new meaning because of the reinterpretation, which adjust in the native culture.

            Foucault is concerned with resistance to power, he believed that sometime this power shapes events and pattern of behavior. Corliss the female protagonist of “The Search Engine” in Ten Little Indians: she is created to act between two culture; native and Euro-American. She was force by her parent to tilt toward tribalism and her academic influence bound her to turn toward the new culture thus, she got a new identity.

            Euro-American discourse stressed that the primitive culture of Native American is unchangeable and doomed because they are unable to fix themselves into the new culture. Whole plethora involved to construct a myth against the Native American and Alexie are criticized that he has strengthen the Euro-American perspective because he also depicted primitive Native culture, who are indulged in alcoholism but this point is missed that alcoholism is the daily life routine of Native American’s. The focus on the primitive culture is to reestablish that what has been lost by Native American due to Euro-American. Another reason is to present the history of Native American though their own perspective.

Source: Sherman Alexie’s Discursive Reconstruction of the Native American Subject by Ghulam Murtaza