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Junior’s grandmother, also referred to as Grandma Spirit, is a wise woman who is adored by her community, and she’s one of the few adults in Junior’s life who does not drink. Junior tells the reader that his grandmother was “powwow-famous” and that “everybody loved her,” and she “loved everybody.” Junior’s statement is proven true when over 2,000 people show up at her wake—the crowd is so big that Junior’s family has to move the coffin onto the fifty-yard line of the Spokane football field. Junior also thinks that she is the “smartest person on the planet” because she always gives him the best advice. For example, she helps Junior understand the unwritten rules of the white world at Reardan and helps him realize that he has earned Roger’s respect by punching him in the face.
Grandma Spirit represents ancient Native American traditions and tolerance. Junior believes that his grandmother’s greatest gift is open-mindedness. He informs the reader that Native Americans used to respect eccentricity more. For instance, they saw epileptics as shamans and gay people as magical. Junior continues that, nowadays, Native Americans “can be just as judgmental and hateful as any white person.” However, Junior’s grandmother still does things the old way and “[hangs] on to that old-time Indian spirit” by treating all people with the same amount of dignity, respect, and kindness. Junior’s grandmother even extends an olive branch to the drunk driver who hit her on her way home from a powwow. Before she dies, her last words are “Forgive him.” Junior concludes that she meant the man who hit her. Heartbroken by his grandmother’s death and overwhelmed by her commitment to tolerance, Junior acknowledges that “even dead, she was a better person than us.” To Junior, his grandmother represents the best that humanity has to offer, an ideal that all people should aspire to emulate.
