In “A Drug Called Tradition,” Sherman Alexie does indeed parody many Native American stereotypes yet he does so in a way that shows his characters' longing for their true heritage and real traditions. Let's look at some of these traditions and stereotypes to get you started on this assignment.

Thomas, Victor, and Junior have a desire to connect with their Native American heritage and traditions, yet this seems impossible to them. They cannot be “real Indians,” but they can, they think, approximate the experience through a hallucinogen drug and the visions it brings. It is in these visions that we see the stereotypes and the traditions.

Junior sees Thomas “dancing naked around a fire.” Thomas sees Victor in braids, riding a stolen horse in the moonlight. Victor sees Junior singing about Crazy Horse and playing guitar. Thomas tells the others a story about three boys “wearing only loincloths and braids,” who are trying to find their “true names” and their true heritage.

We can see, then, that these images are largely stereotypical, absurd, and misrepresentative; they are very different from the young men's actual lives, which include poverty, discrimination, and confusion. Yet they do not realize that there is another way to access their traditions, and we get a hint of this when Big Mom comes to them and gives Victor a little drum that he is to use if he needs her. He never uses the drum, and therefore, he misses out on really learning of his heritage.