Cultures of American Childhood

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Question 1

Please match each quotation with the person who says it.

	“What’s that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young.”
	“This morning I pick up the sports page and read the headline. INDIANS LOSE AGAIN.”
	“You’ll learn respect.... Indians, indians, indians....indian, indian, indian.”
	“...but when we look in the mirror, see the history of our tribe in our eyes, taste failure in the tap water, and shake with old tears, we understand completely.’”

A.	"The Chicano teacher"
B.	Victor
C.	Betty Towle

2 points

Question 2

In terms of its level of fictionality, Alexie’s short story “Indian Education” is different from texts such as Letters from Rifka in that

		Alexie’s story is a completely fictional text with no clear relationship to “real life” outside the text
		“Indian Education” is a historically accurate text but has no biographical grounding in the experiences of Alexie himself or his family members
		Alexie’s story is partly based on his own experiences rather than being based on the experiences of an older member of his family

0.5 points

Question 3

“Indian Education” echoes or reinforces certain ideas presented in the 2014 Native Youth Report, including ideas about

		Low incomes in Native communities and their effects on children
		How Native children did not historically experience the pressures to assimilate that their parents experienced because their unique rights as children were respected
		Both

0.5 points

Question 4

While the Native Youth Report contains a great deal of helpful and accurate information, “Indian Education” helps to complete or round out the information presented in the report by

		Providing a window into the experiences of an adolescent who is in some ways exceptionally resilient – that is, able to cope with trauma, overcome adversity, and make great academic achievements
		Providing supplementary information about specific challenges facing Native students – for instance, information about bias against Native students among some teachers of color
		Both

0.5 points

Question 5

As a complement to the Native Youth Report, Smoke Signals reinforces multiple ideas about Native experiences of childhood that are presented in the report, such as

		The negative effects of alcohol dependence within families on children
		The effects on children of low incomes and limited socio-economic resources within reservations
		Both

0.5 points

Question 6

As a supplement to the Native Youth Report, Smoke Signals counters stereotypes or generalizations that the report itself risks encouraging by

		Depicting Native children, adolescents, and young adults who take pleasure in a hybrid approach to culture that includes both indigenous and non-indigenous elements
		Depicting Native children, adolescents, and young adults who successfully refuse to adopt a single element of non-indigenous culture despite the pressure to assimilate
		Both

0.5 points

Question 7

Analyzing the Native Youth Report alongside “Indian Education” and Smoke Signals suggests that

		The injustices affecting children that are depicted in Alexie’s work have been resolved, since the Native Youth Report focuses on cataloging past wrongs and showing how the U.S. government has successfully righted them
		The injustices affecting children that are depicted in Alexie’s work have not been resolved, but despite (or perhaps because of) the U.S. government’s role in creating these problems, the Executive Office has recently shown at least some interest in resolving them
		The injustices affecting children that are depicted in Alexie’s work have not been resolved, and the Executive Office has had little interest in resolving or raising awareness about these problems despite the U.S. government’s having historically been largely responsible for creating them