“The greatest of all Indian problems is the white man (Bottom page 3).” The elusive Whitman is not a recent problem for American Indians. For the Western Apache this problem first came to light in 1853 after the completion of the Gadsden Purchase. The White Men invaded the Apaches' western Arizona territory not with peace, but with demands and open hostility. Thus began a brutal thirty-year war that led to the defeat of the Apache (Bottom page 24). The creation of reservations in 1872 was not enough for the Whites. They also created an assimilation program for the Western Apache because acclimating to Anglo-American society was a necessity for survival. “Three objectives were given primary importance. One of these was the economic development of the reservations to a point where they provided the Indians with a reliable means of self-support. Another was the opening of schools so that Apache children could be educated in reading, writing, and "proper etiquette." The third goal was the planting of churches and the eventual conversion of all Apaches to Christianity (Bottom page 24).” Unfortunately for the White Man, the assimilation program did not work exactly as they had planned, “most Western Apaches remain on the fringes of American national society (Basso p. 26).” The growing relations between Whiteman and the American Indians only served the purpose of giving the Western Apache fodder for their pranks. White men have become a cultural symbol that “defines and characterizes what the Indian is not (Bottom page 4)”. So even though white men are one of the American Indians' biggest problems, they have also become one of their biggest sources of laughter. Imitating the white man is not a regular occurrence in Western Apache society, but when it happens, lau...... middle of paper ...how the American Indian prankster sees himself in comparison to the White Man (Low page 4). The White Man created in their jokes is not a real person, but a negative reflection of the American Indian participating in the joke. These funny and dangerous jokes are actually cultural statements. American Indian imitations of white men make me wonder if the same phenomenon can be found in other racial groups. Does everyone imitate the White Man? Do White Men imitate other racial groups? How did the imitation of the White Man evolve after Keith Basso's ethnography? Although very clear in its intent to educate the masses about such a phenomenon, this book left me with more questions than answers. Works Cited Basso, Keith. 1979. Portraits of "The Whiteman:" Language Play and Cultural Symbols among the Western Apache. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. First half.