Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie is a novel that ends all misconceptions and tells the truth about life on Native American reservations. Sherman Alexie is a Spokane Indian, the novel is based on the Spokane Indian reservation, and shows the readers the reality of life on the reservation. The novel outlines the formation of a band named Coyote Springs by three members of the Spokane Indian tribe along with 2 members of the flathead Indian tribe. Thomas Builds-the-fire is the lead singer of the band Coyote Springs, which the book is centered around, who invites Victor and Junior, two alcoholics on the reservation, to join. Initially, the band is very popular on the reservation, but their image sours after they allow two flathead Indians, Chess and Checkers, into the band and they travel to Seattle for a competition. Two talent scouts for Calvary Records, Sheridan and Wright, visit the band on the Spokane Indian Reservation and listen to the band. They think the band can go somewhere, and the scouts fly the band to New York for an audition, where it falls apart. After returning to the reservation the band members go their separate ways. It is set in the late 20th century, and the Spokane Indian reservation affects every character in the novel a different way and is a pivotal part to the storyline.

Alexie argues that by being surrounded by the powerful and different white society Native Americans are being oppressed culturally. Alexie explores the ways in which white society negatively affects Indians has changed. Sheridan, the talent scout for Calvary records, is also a general who served in the war between the United States and the American Indians. The novel shows that the Native Americans were oppressed socially when Sheridan says to Checkers in a dream “we still kept trying to change you. Tried to make you white. It never worked.” (237) He is talking about how the white people tried to force the Native Americans to assimilate to white culture. The oppression that happens in the book is more of neglect, where the government does not give the Indians much attention. Also, Native Americans do not leave the reservation because of the negative image that Americans have for Indians.

Sherman Alexie shows that although the popular has forgot about Native Americans in general their culture is still being overpowered and misunderstood by white culture. I think this book does a very good job of showing the inequality that Native Americans have to fight everyday in their lives. However, I think that the fixation that the book has on white people as being both evil and rich to is wrong. Sherman Alexie is portraying the Native American lifestyle with the white style to contrast the two. However that portrayal of white people is incorrect because white people’s lifestyle is not nearly as perfect as shown.