Rez Road Follies by Jim Northrup

Rez Road Follies, a book written by a Native American storyteller named Jim Northrup, is very unique. This book describes the in’s and out’s of the Anishinaabe people’s lifestyle through Jim’s view and also through other people’s views. His views of human life range from being stuck in a governmental boarding school to fighting for our country in the Vietnam War. Northrup decided to write this book in a unique but effective way. For instance, his use of humor throughout the book compliments the stories and teachings he is portraying by writing this unique novel. His goal of writing a book about life as an Indian has helped make it very clear for all of the readers of this book.

Northrup’s purpose of writing this book stems from the misunderstanding of Indian traditions, beliefs and cultures. He was forced into mainstream America when he was young by being enrolled into boarding school by the government to try and filter out the native culture. I believe the central idea behind Northrup writing this novel is the fact that he’s been an Indian his whole life yet hasn’t been able to act Indian because of outside influences. I believe each chapter has its own thesis statement within it. Within each chapter of the text, he explains a different portion of native history and lifestyle. For instance, in the opening chapter about “Families”, he quickly gets across his main idea of how important families are to the Anishinaabe by stating: “Living without family would be like trying to live without air and water. It can be done but not for very long.” This statement exemplifies the importance of family to his people. As he moves into the next chapter the central

idea changes from family to the importance and significance of the four seasons. He explains to us the importance by explaining how their life patterns adjust according to what season it is.

The author provides a lot of significant evidence to support his main ideas throughout the book. First, the author supports his statement about the importance of family. After Northrup’s father had developed tuberculosis and went away for a few years, his mother realized that him and his siblings were exposed to the ruthless disease. They all were sent away to a sanitarium and when they returned they were all split up amongst their family members to ensure their safety (Page 4). This easily supports the thesis that you could not live without a family for a very long time. During the chapter of “Seasons”, Northrup explains that they live their lives by the changing of our seasons. This is proved by his story of spring. During the spring, it is time for his people to go from tree to tree and gather as much sap from trees as possible to make syrup (Page 78). The idea of racism for the Anishinaabeeg people was something that was seen everyday for many of them. For instance, the author shares with us a story from when he went into town to buy a jacket.