Government

Both short stories “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and “The Trial of Thomas Builds the Fire” by Sherman Alexie exists within an unjust and biased kind of government. Throughout the stories we can see the unfairness in the way the BIA treats the native Americans. In the story “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”, when Viktor asks for money to go collect his father’s remains the BIA has seemingly already made up their mind that they were only going to give him a certain amount which was only $100.They also showed a lack of sympathy when he told them about the death of his father. At the beginning of the story “The Trial of Thomas Builds the Fire” a guy from the BIA states when speaking about what charges Thomas would be brought up on “It has to be a felony charge. We don’t need his kind around here anymore.” Along with this statement, Thomas states” He was guilty, he knew that. All that was variable on any reservation was how the convicted would be punished.” These statements show just how discriminatory and unfair the BIA is. Going into the trial just as Thomas said he was already considered guilty before the trial even started. They sentenced him based on stories he told and not real facts which just confirms how unfairly Native Americans were treated.