A Look Into Society in "The Almanac of the Dead"

The Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko portrays an accurate description of life on the bottom of society through its telling of stories that embody certain characteristics of poverty, homelessness, drug use, and overall lack of everyday necessities. The characters within this novel all tell their own unique stories that all relate to each other in terms of their positions within society. There are interesting components of this novel which are incorporated in through the telling of both American Indian and other racialized characters' stories. The use of different races in telling the stories of the American Indian way of life is a major way in which Silko compares those on the bottom of society with those in other positions within the same society.
Some of the characters that portray the bottom of society are Seese, Sterling, Calabazas, Root, Lecha, and Zeta. They all have different stories but the majority of these characters' stories deal with drug use. Drug use is an apparent part of life on the bottom of the societal ladder. Seese's story shows her as using cocaine as do the stories of Calabazas and Root. Lecha abuses demerol in order to become high, while other characters are seen transporting and selling drugs over the Mexico border. There are many other indicators of characters embodying aspects of the lower level of society as well.
The American Indian culture and society uses a different ranking process within their society; however, this novel shows that these people are still affected and ranked by the overall ranking system within the American society. Being on the bottom of the societal ladder is something that is widely apparent within American Indian culture and this novel has the ability to show different sides of the experiences involved in this societal positioning.