HYBRIDITY AND INDIGENOUS IDENTITY NEGOTIATION IN THIRD SPACE SCHOOLING: A STUDY OF THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN

Abstract

This paper discusses how Indigenous identity was negotiated in the educational setting as described in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The formation of indigenous identity is subject to the influences of colonial history, cultural displacement, and the demands of assimilation into the mainstream social institutions, specifically Western school systems. Arnold Spirit Jr., the Spokane Indian teenager protagonist in the novel, leaves the reservation school to attend a high school where most students are whites, putting him between the two diverse cultural settings. In spite of the academic focus on the novel, there are very scarce works that will examine the role of schooling as a cultural Third Space wherein Indigenous identity is negotiated. To fill this gap, the current work uses the theoretical concept of hybridity and of Third Space created by Homi K. Bhabha to interpret the experiences of the main protagonist. The study is qualitative literature analysis that incorporates close textual analysis and thematic interpretation of voice of narrative, interactions and tensions between characters as well as cultural conflicts as depicted in the novel. The research results demonstrate that Arnold builds a hybrid identity because of ongoing dispute on the belonging to the Indigenous culture and the demands of the dominant society. Humor, mimicry and adaptive cultural practices are some of the strategies, which help him to overcome cultural conflicts of reservation life and mainstream education. The research finds that schooling in the novel is a third space characterized by the formation of hybrid identities, which underscores the strength and agency of Indigenous youth as they navigate several cultural worlds and still have a linkage to their cultures.