Reservation Blues - Essay Example

Reservation Blues Chess and Checkers were two sisters that played a very important role in Reservation Blues by Alexie Sherman. They were highly significant in the rock band called the Coyote Springs as they were backup singers to the singing group. The two sisters joined the Coyote Springs after the trio of Thomas Builds-the-Fire, Victor Joseph and Junior Polatkin picked them as the only Indian ladies to complete the rock band. Chess and Checkers were Flathead Indians, members of the Native American people that joined the Coyote Springs from the reservation. Check and Checkers joined the band in their bid to achieve recognition and affluence out of the isolated Spokane Reservation. The two sisters were with the band in their trip to New York City for a record deal and they probably used them to gain the attention of the music producers due to their beautiful looks, especially Checkers. It should also be noted that, Chess became the girlfriend of Thomas in the Reservation Blues and she later played a more active role in the group by playing as a lead singer. The two sisters were also good on the keyboard and they helped the group in playing this instrument. Chess tried to motivate Thomas on the growth of the band as she reminded Thomas of his real aim of forming the rock band, which was ultimately to become famous. Chess was more like a motivating factor as she tried all that was within her power to spur the band to success. The group was yearning for success and this was evident in one of Thomas’ statement when he said that he heard voices.  He said that he wants strangers to appreciate him and become popular, even amongst people that were not of the same race as him.  Thomas’ statement shows that, he wanted to achieve success as the leader of the group and that he wanted to be accepted beyond the local reservation, they wanted to have a worldwide acceptance and be the best in rock. Being the only female Indian members in the group, Chess and Checkers were used as instruments to attract men and make people appreciate their band the more and this was evident from this statement, “Both would attract men, I think. Sort of that exotic animalistic thing.” (Alexie 190). This shows the relevance of Chess and Checkers to the group as they were used to attract the attention of men to their group. An impact that is worthy of commendation that Chess and Checkers had in the Reservation Blues was that, they helped the rock band to deal with the stereotype problems they were faced with. Being an all-Indian group, the Coyote Springs faced the problems of being accepted by people due to their Native American race, it was Chess and Checkers that spoke against the stereotypes that affected the group. The sisters were outspoken and they were bold enough to confront people that did not give their band a chance due to the fact that, they are from the Native American race. Checkers was described as the most gorgeous girl on the Flathead Reservation and Alexie Sherman explained that, she was sexually abused. They would take her to bed forcefully (Alexie 114). There was a part in the book that described how Checkers nightmare about he being rescued by Wright from the hands of Sheridan and the looks on the face of Checkers suggested that she had been assaulted. This explains the perception of Wright about, “the faces of millions of Indians, beaten, scarred by smallpox and frostbite, split open by bayonets and bullets.” (Alexie 244). Chess and Checkers were used by Alexie to show the hardships and struggle that, the Indians, most especially Indian women were made to face as this was one of their significance in ‘Reservation Blues’. Chess and Checkers functioned as a good replacement to the other Non-Indian female members of the band. They were also significant in the history of blues in the book and the grouse that the church had with blues and the people that were into the vocation of singing rock music. Through Chess and Checkers, readers would learn of the fears of the church to blues. The two sisters were used to remind readers of the impression that, the church had on rock music as they had the belief of it being an evil music. This was evident when Checkers left the band to play in the church choir; her decision to leave the band was lauded by the Catholic church. Though Checkers later returned to the band, but the fact remains that, she was used by Alexie to show that, the church detested rock music and would want members of rock bands to come to God by singing in the church choir. Through the life of Chess and Checkers in Reservation Blues, readers are made aware of the love-hate relationships that existed amongst the whites and the Native Americans. The two sisters helped readers know the difficulties that the Native Americans of old faced when trying to live in a white-dominated society. Alexie Sherman tried to show through the lives of Chess and Checkers that, the typical Native American woman faced the problems of drugs, poor education and alcoholism in a corrupt white man’s world. Betty and Veronica were Non-Indian girls that joined the group and the fact that, they left the group as a result of issues they had with Chess and Checkers goes a long way to show that, it was not only men that abused the Native American woman, but the white women also. It was the entire white race that had issues with the Native Americans as this was clearly shown in the severed relation between Betty and Veronica on one side and Chess and Checkers on the other. Chess is depicted as an advocate for all Indian women as she lends her voice to the dreams and aspiration. Chess cries against the fact that, Indian men prefer the White man to the Indian woman. The two sisters were outrageous after they caught Junior and Victor, who were Indians with the white Betty and Veronica at the back of a van. This made Chess to tell Thomas of the need to preserve the Indian bloodlines. Probably, Alexie uses this to show that, Chess feared the extinction of the pure Indian race. The description of Checkers as a beautiful lady cleared the air on whether Native Americans were attractive or not as she was depicted as a damsel with long hair. Chess and Checkers were very active and vibrant women that stood for what they believed as they really did not let the stereotype against their race to bring them down. Readers, especially the female ones would learn through the acts of Chess and Checkers of how to face the difficulties of life in order to achieve their desires and childhood dreams. Chess and Checkers faced adversity in their struggle to develop their budding career, but they came out strong. Though, Chess and Checkers were partially influenced by the culture of the whites, they came out strong and did not forget their roots and origin. Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. Reservation Blues. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995. Read More