In the short story, What You Pawn I Will Redeem we follow the story of an American Indian who is homeless without any real goals. The story begins to develop once Jackson, the main character, finds his grandmother’s dancing regalia in a pawn shop and determines to buy it from the owner who offered to sell it for a thousand dollars. For a man who called himself “an effective homeless” the determination of reclaiming the regalia gave me the impression that the regalia was a symbol of some kind to Jackson. My reasoning for this is the fact that Jackson is an American Indian who longs for companionship from other American Indians and he proved this throughout the story when he repeatedly tried to connect with others who shared the same culture as him. Jackson’s desire to connect with others from the same culture as him shows how he values his culture and his desire to learn more about it, therefore, the regalia was not just traditional clothing his grandmother used to own but something that is deeply connected with his culture. Moreover, Jackson’s desire to connect with his culture comes from the fact that he is homeless which symbolizes how the American Indian culture became homeless overtime and was endangered multiple times throughout the history. Symbols are an important part of the American Indian culture and the author of this short story used symbolism inside of the story with that in mind. Jackson being homeless is a symbol for the lack of home for the American Indian culture and how it the culture feels out of place in its own homeland, the regalia is a symbol for the American Indian culture and how the American Indians wish to hold on to their own culture.

The native Americans did not speak one single tongue; in fact, they spoke many different tongues depending on their geographical location (Native American Languages). However, in the present only few tongues are widely spread, such as the Navajo tongue, and this is caused by the treatment the native Americans had to face in the past. In the words of an American Indian this is the treatment they faced in school “Because speaking Navajo was forbidden, many children did not speak at all” speaking their own language was forbidden in their own homeland (Daniella Zalcman 73). This is a proof that the government was actively trying to halt the culture of the natives and try to eradicate it. Language is a unique tool for humans to communicate with each other, however, that is not the only use of language. Each culture use their language differently and in their own unique way, for example per linguists the English language is more direct whereas other languages use more indirect approach of speaking. This example may not seem very significant but even in this simple example the connection between culture and language can be felt, therefore, forbidding the natives from speaking in their own tongue is not only forbidding them to communicate in a way they are comfortable with but it is also an oppression against their culture.

The white people who decide to oppress the language of the American Indians may have did it thinking that it was for the sake of the American Indians and that it would help them. For example, the prevention of the American Indian language in school could have been viewed as helping the American Indian children get used to the culture of the United States. However, the intentions do not matter sometimes because when you do something it could end up hurting them instead of helping them. This was symbolized in the short story when Jackson said the following about a white police officer “He’d given me hundreds of candy bars over the years. I wonder if he knew I was diabetic.” The white police officer may have been trying to help Jackson because he was homeless, however, he was doing the opposite and was hurting him because he was diabetic.

In the present, there is a problem in an area called the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation where an oil pipeline is going beneath the Missouri River causing fear for the health of the natives who drink from the river’s water. And per the article Standing Like a Rock there is a treaty that guarantees their water rights around that area, and the oil pipeline is clearly breaching that right and causing harm to the river. The native Americans culture is attached with appreciation of nature, they only hunt for food and even when doing that it is customary to ask the animal’s spirit for permission. This clearly shows the importance of nature to the culture of the native Americans and violating that right by endangering the river by possibly polluting it which goes against the treaty. This is an example of how difficult it is for the native Americans to live their lives in the United States, because the United States and almost every nation in this world right now pollutes the world and kills more animals than necessary; all of which are things that go against the culture of the American Indians.

The current situation going on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is a prime example of how the American Indian culture conflicts with modern society values. The modern world strives for progress and the cost for that progress is the pollution of earth, and the corporations in the United States have no problems paying that price. However, the culture of forcing progress at the cost of polluting the river, air, and nature in general is something that is opposite to the American Indian culture. Which is leading the American Indian culture to face difficulties functioning in its own homeland where the American Indians used to practice this same culture without any problems. Therefore, the main character of What You Pawn I Will Redeem Jackson is symbolizing the lack of placement for the American Indian culture by being homeless.

In some cultures, the clothes you wear are very connected to how you self-identify and this is a very important thing for people who are struggling to protect their culture. Per Bucker “Matchcoats and/or their accessories came to provide native peoples with items of dress that were useful signifiers of native identity.” This quote strengthens the argument that clothes are important for native Americans to self-identify and how the regalia was a symbol for their culture (Bucker 728). Bucker is arguing that clothes are very connected to how you self-identify yourself and he explains in details what sort of clothes the natives used to wear and why, for example he explained that a high status native American would wear a feathered cape. Bucker is trying to help us understand the importance of clothes and how they relate to the culture of the native Americans. All the information Bucker provides in his writing about the clothes of the native Americans helps the readers understand how valuable the regalia was to Jackson and why it was so important for him to recover it, moreover, Bucker’s information helps the reader to see the regalia as a symbol of the native Americans culture instead of just a piece of clothing that Jackson wanted.

In the short story, Jackson was trying to obtain the regalia that was owned by his grandmother in the past, Jackson was trying to obtain the regalia because he thought it was heirloom. And per Johan Josefsson “This ‘left behind’ may have the qualities, or the potential, to be discovered and filled with meanings that convey values for the next generation.” (Josefsson 2092). Josefsson in his writing explained the value of heritage and why it is important for the next generation to inherit what is left behind from the older generation. Furthermore, Josefsson wrote “Aronsson builds on this and states that heritage in the 21st century is everywhere and therefore nowhere.” Which is a statement that is arguably wrong. For example, the native American culture is not everywhere and was attacked throughout history and that is why it is important to preserve it as much as possible. Josefsson’s writing helped me understand my concept of What You Pawn I Will Redeem more with his view on the ‘left behind’, however, I disagree with him on his view of culture being everywhere.

In this story, Jackson as the main character had a purpose of symbolizing the American Indian culture, and the author Alexie managed to use Jackson in an interesting way and make him fulfill his purpose in the story. The main symbols of the story revolved around what the regalia stood for and why was Jackson a homeless man with no goals or a place to belong to. Jackson’s homeless situation was symbolism for the American Indian culture and how they are having difficulties preserving their lifestyle within the culture of the United States. The regalia stands for the American culture and how Jackson wishes to preserve it and cherish it, and it made Jackson have some sort of goal to work toward instead of just being homeless with no goals.
