Powwow response

I disagree with the argument that the poem does not reflect dystopian ideals. The speaker is unable to forgive until conditions have been met, although they are unlikely to be fulfilled. I further disagree with the statement that the poem lacks a dystopian tone based on the last two lines of the poem, “I must forgive and so I shall when I am dancing with my tribe during the powwow at the end of the world.” The speaker is not saying this with rejoice, but rather complacently. The speaker has come to the understanding that he has no choice but to accept his fate. He is stuck in a hopeless situation and realizes that he should simply accept his fate, so he chooses to when “dancing with [his] tribe.”

It is also important to look at the rhetorical devices employed by the author and how they enhance his argument. The most apparent device is the use of anaphora, repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of each sentence. The repetition allows the audience to understand the speaker’s sense of despair and the inevitability of his situation. He continues with reasons for which he will forgive, almost solidifying the audience’s understanding that the previous will never actually occur. Alexie uses the point of view of the poem, a single Native American, to speak for the entire Native American population to which the suppressive force of governmental systems has shafted, and combined with the historical context of the poem employs pathos. The symbols of the dam and the salmon directly correlate to the rigid, structured government and the free-spirited Native American culture, respectively.  

I think the most interesting comment made though, is that while the poem contains many dystopian themes, it is not foreshadowing an “end of the world”, but rather reflecting upon one. While Alexie speaks of Native American life on a reservation, this poem can be easily applied to early Native American and US Government encounters. It almost creates the idea that the world is ending, because it has been deteriorating for so long.