A Study of: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By Kelly Mulder

How does history and personal experience play a role in shaping who we are? I will be looking at Arnold’s history and personal experience throughout the book as well as my own throughout my life. I will be comparing and contrasting my results with a reflection at the end.

Arnold Spirit’s History/Personal Experience Kelly Mulder’s History/Personal Experience Arnold Spirit’s History/Personal Experience Arnold was born and raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation and lived with his family. His grandma also lived on the reservation. Arnold was born with health problems which he got made fun of for. He also got picked on and beat up. Arnold had a best friend, Rowdy, who looked out for him no matter what. “But he is my best human friend and he cares about me, so he would always tell me the truth.” –pg. 16 I was born and raised on a farm where I lived with my family. Many of my relatives lived close-by. I was born healthy and did not have a rough child-hood like Arnold. I have a best friend, Ashley, who looks out for me no matter what. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember.

Arnold Kelly Arnold was poor and he came from a long line of ancestors that were poor. Arnold loved his family, especially his Gran. Arnold’s parents had dreams, to be something other than poor, but no one paid attention to their dreams. His mom wanted to go to college. His dad wanted to be a musician. My family and ancestors are middle class—many of them were farmers. Hard work has been instilled in my family and myself and I feel very blessed with this situation. I love my family very much and I am very close with them. My parents had dreams as well and were very lucky that they had people to support them and invest in their dreams. My dad is a farmer and he took over the family farm from my Grandpa. He is now farming with my two brothers. My mom is a florist and a housewife. She opened a flower shop on our farm in 1996 when she was 40. Since my parents both had flexible jobs, they were able to invest time in all four of their kids.

Arnold Kelly Arnold’s parents are alcoholics like many people on the reservation, but they are not angry or violent drunks. “My father and mother are drunks, too, but they aren’t mean like that. Not at all. They sometimes ignore me. Sometimes they yell at me. But they never, ever, never ever, hit me. I’ve never even been spanked. Really. I think my mother sometimes wants to haul off and give me a slap, but my father won’t let it happen. He doesn’t believe in physical punishment; he believes in staring so cold at me that I turn into a ice-covered ice cube with an icy filling.” -pgs. 16-17 My parents were/still are great role models. They raised my two brothers, my sister, and I in a strong Christian home; taught us a hard work ethic; showed us love and support; invested time in us and our activities; taught us good morals and values. Even though we were a middle class family, we were not spoiled. We did chores around the farm and house and learned a strong work ethic that I hold with me today.

Arnold Kelly Arnold’s Gran did not drink alcohol. Arnold did not drink Alcohol. My grandparents and parents do not drink alcohol. I did not drink any alcohol until I was 21 and I still rarely have a drink.

Arnold Kelly Arnold’s family (and many Indians) have died as a result of alcohol. “Plenty of Indians have died because they were drunk. And plenty of drunken Indians have killed other drunken Indians.” -pg. 158 My family does not have a history with alcohol, but many of my family members have been affected by cancer. My grandpa died of cancer, my cousin died of Leukemia (cancer of the blood or bone marrow) when he was 23, two of my uncles have had cancer, and my dad had prostate cancer.

Arnold Kelly Arnold loved to play basketball and played on the school team. Arnold loved to draw—especially cartoons. Arnold seemed to like school because he was really smart and had a teacher that pushed him to do his best. I played basketball from 5th grade to 12th grade and played on our school team. I am an artist/art teacher and I also love to draw (and paint!). I like to draw cartoon animals/people/etc. but I do not write stories with them. I also liked school and I had many teachers that pushed me to do my best and helped me become the teacher I am today!

Arnold Kelly Follow Your Dreams! Despite everything that Arnold went through, he ended up going against the crowd and following his dreams. He became independent and went to Reardan even though it wasn’t the “cool” thing to do. Later, he ended up making friends there and becoming a star basketball player. After high school I knew I wanted to go to college to be an art teacher. I followed my dreams and am now living them! Many of my friends did things in high school that I did not participate in, but later I ended up getting respect for being my own person. Follow Your Dreams!

Reflection After reading the book and comparing/contrasting my history/personal experience with Arnold’s, I can gain a lot of respect for what he did and how hard it was for him to break out and become independent. If someone were to look at my own life and see where I am today, it probably would not stand out because I had it pretty easy considering how I grew up. However, if someone were to look at Arnold’s life (or anyone in the same situation as Arnold) it would be pretty amazing because he worked hard to overcome the hopelessness that his situation put him in.

Reflection, cont. After doing this project, I am able to see and understand how to teach students that come from a situation like Arnold’s. It is so important to push them and give them hope. Encouragement is key for any student, but especially one who comes from a similar background as Arnolds. They need to know that someone believes in them and truly thinks they can succeed.