Arnold Spirit Jr.: The Old Time Indian

Old time Indians used to be nomadic, meaning that they would continue moving in search of food, water, and grazing land. Arnold Spirit Jr. (Junior) was similar to an old time Indian in the way that he moved from home, he was exposed to other cultures such as the whites, and by these actions he finds his true inner Indian.
Junior wanted change. He decided he was going to still live at home but he wanted to try a different school. Many children at the reservation hated him for that and thought of him as a traitor. His own best friend even abandoned him. Junior knew that the reservation was his true home. He had grown up there, his family lived there, and that was where his customs were located. Attending Rearden represented the expansion of the world. As stated above, true Native Americans were nomadic meaning they expanded looking for something better. Any of Junior’s Indian friends thought that he was a traitor …show more content…
However he is truly strengthening his Indian society. Since Native Americans were the true natives, all of the land belonged to them. They were nomadic just like Arnold was. He proved to his reservation that he was one of few left of true Indian customs. Junior comes to the revelation that he is a member of many societies. He knows that sometimes he may feel alone in some of his choices, but in the end there will always be someone like him. A real life situation that brings him to this realization is when his friend Rowdy won't go to school with him. Junior is upset, but in the end Rowdy said he was right for leaving. This gave Junior a sense of pride. All along Junior thought everybody hated him for leaving. It took them until the end to figure out what had really happened. He also realized that people may not be the exact same but share similar characteristics and descriptions. This turns on a mental thought. People can be categorized as anything they want to be just by being

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