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TUSCARORA REVIEW 2016

2016 TUSCARORA REVIEW

to be before the war. Eventually, Henry gets to work fixing up the Olds, and there

is a glimmer of hope that maybe this will help him cope with all that he’d been

through. Ultimately, however, at the end of the story, Henry admits to knowing

Lyman intentionally trashed the car to hopefully alleviate Henry’s pain. It is as if

Henry believes he is so far gone from his former self, which may be what pushes

him to jump into the swollen, overflowing river and kill himself.

Suicide is the ultimate trauma for a family and community. And while the story

may end with a bit of closure for Lyman, as he sends the convertible off into

the river, Henry’s suicide certainly still had an impact. In a collection of personal

accounts of Native American Vietnam Veterans called “Vietnam Powwow: The

Vietnam War as Remembered by Native American Veterans,” American Indian

Vietnam Veteran Steve Gano says, “The doctor down in Missoula flat told me

that a lot of vets were committing suicide over this thing, and that doctors

really don’t know what to do to help them.” So at the time, even doctors with

experience in war trauma didn’t know what to do to stop or curtail these suicides

by Vietnam Veterans. Gano later goes on to add, “The figures for 1988 by the vet

organizations figure that 60,000 vets will probably commit suicide this year.” It’s

a startlingly high number and, sadly, it most certainly included many American

Indian veterans.

Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible” illuminates an often overlooked and

underrepresented facet of American society. Not only were all Vietnam Veterans

coming home defeated, traumatized, and largely ridiculed by the general public

but American Indian Veterans were suffering even more so. They encountered

extreme violence, combat, and racism, leading to the highest percentages of

trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder by race. Yet, according to the National

Center for PTSD, “American Indians and Native Hawaiians received combat

service medals more often than individuals in other ethnic groups.” So despite

the immense and unimaginable hardships they endured, American Indian Vietnam

Veterans should be remembered and celebrated for their actions and heroism in

the face of unknowable trauma above and beyond the call of duty.

Works Cited

Beals, Janette, et al. “The Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among American Indian

Vietnam Veterans: Disparities and Context.” Journal of Traumatic Stress 15.2 (2002): 89.

Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

Erdrich, Louise. “The Red Convertible.” Approaching Literature. 3rd ed. Peter Schakel and Jack

Ridl. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 126-133. Print.

Gano, Steve. “Vietnam Powwow: The Vietnam War as Remembered by Native American

Veterans.” Ed. Robert Sanderson. American Native Press Archives and Sequoyah Research

Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

“Psychological Trauma for American Indians Who Served in Vietnam.” U.S. Department of

Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD. 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

Scurfield, Raymond M. Healing Journeys: Study Abroad with Vietnam Veterans. New York, NY,

USA: Algora Publishing, 2006. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

Maria Rivera,

Slip Trailin' Pot

— Ceramics