The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PROLOGUE-CHAPTER 2

Reading Check

1. What word did King’s wife and son object to his using in the book’s subtitle?

2. Where is the commemorative plaque that King describes?

3. What Métis rebellion leader does King discuss?

4. According to King, how many racial categories did 19th-century European and European-descended people believe in?

5. What 1915 Fraser sculpture does King discuss?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does King use the term “Indian” to refer to the Indigenous peoples of North America?

2. What is King’s rhetorical purpose in describing the plaque commemorating the supposed massacre?

3. What clarification does King provide about John Smith and Pocahontas?

4. What distinction does King make between the attitudes of explorers and colonists toward Indigenous people?

5. What criticism does King level against the film industry?

Paired Resource

“The End of the Trail as an American Icon” and “End of the Trail, Then and Now”

• These two discussions of the Fraser sculpture include a 2-minute video with brief textual commentary from The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and an interview with Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson.