The three characters introduced to us from Pow Wow Highway and “Saint Marie” dealt with modern day psychological, economic and social genocide differently from each other, but they all took what they were going through and manipulated them, whether intentionally or not, to fit their lives.
Buddy Red Bow fought against the economic aspect of the genocide by trying to stop his white oppressors from taking over his land. He was hell bent on keeping his land while his friend Philberto Bono left the modern day norm and decided to find his warrior identity. Bono handled his situation by purposefully almost out casting himself from the injustices seen around him by looking for his warrior identity. He was all right with that in my opinion. When the two men leave for a road trip to save Red Bow’s sister, the learn more about themselves and each other as they encounter various situations that allude to the modern day issues seen against their people in America such as the mistreatment of their people by their white oppressors.
Marie had to handle the emotional and social aspects of genocide with Sister Leopolda around. Marie at first seemed to just accept her fate with Sr. Leopolda. Marie allowed Sr. Leopolda to abuse her and accepted the truth that she was doing it out of love, but when enough was enough, Marie took control and wound up being considered a saint by the other sisters. Marie was socially out casted by Sr. Leopolda when she separated her from the other girls and kept her close by to ward off the Dark One. She suffered emotional distress because she was getting burned and stabbed with a fork all because she was Indian and was thought to have Satan in her.
The Native American genocide is closely related to the Holocaust for Jews because the Jews were social outcasts considered responsible for the economic decline of Germany. However, while the Native Americans were being out casted, they were taken advantage of by being used to gain land and profit from their work.
The white people kept trying to take more and more from Red Bow until Red Bow decides no more. Marie showed Sister Leopolda who was boss when she commanded her to kneel before her while she sat in bed. All the characters unintentionally took control of their injustices and worked it to their advantage.
Native American genocide is not as well known as the Holocaust, but it is just as unjust and also has people who took what they were given and made a change, at least in their life.
