Reservations
There are 310 reservations all over the United States. A reservation is a piece of land, given by the United States government for Native Americans to live. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie takes place on a reservation. On www.indians.org, it was stated “[…] Native Americans were here first and Indian Reservations were set up to give them a piece of land, while the settlers set up new rules and laws and took over the land”(Article: Indian Reservations).
When the first settlers came to North America, they tried to change the Natives and have control over them. They tried to stop the Native Americans from hunting and convert them to Christianity. Many acts have been made since then that have given Natives more freedom. Today each reservation has its own government, but, the United States government still has some control over their governments. However, Reservation governments are now involved in decisions of the U.S. Federal Government as well.
As addressed in the novel, life on reservations is not easy. This may be due to the centuries of oppression. Issues such as poverty (due to unemployment), and alcoholism have been, and still are within reservations. It is common for a reservation to make money by tourism, art trade, or the operation of casinos. This helps some of the reservations but other reservations still need help from the state where they reside.
When the first settlers came to North America, they tried to change the Natives and have control over them. They tried to stop the Native Americans from hunting and convert them to Christianity. Many acts have been made since then that have given Natives more freedom. Today each reservation has its own government, but, the United States government still has some control over their governments. However, Reservation governments are now involved in decisions of the U.S. Federal Government as well.
As addressed in the novel, life on reservations is not easy. This may be due to the centuries of oppression. Issues such as poverty (due to unemployment), and alcoholism have been, and still are within reservations. It is common for a reservation to make money by tourism, art trade, or the operation of casinos. This helps some of the reservations but other reservations still need help from the state where they reside.