In "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," Jackson is alienated from his community in a number of ways. He is an Interior Salish Native American from Spokane who left his hometown for college, then dropped out and developed an undiagnosed mental illness that eventually resulted in his homelessness. He describes himself as invisible in Seattle because he is one of so many homeless Native American people. Additionally, the owner of the pawn shop in which he finds his grandmother's powwow regalia refuses to return it at first and argues that the police wouldn't help him due to disbelieving him. Jackson is thus physically alienated from his Salish community because he left for Seattle with no means of returning, and is an invisible, disrespected member of his local community due to his mental illness and homelessness. As a mentally ill alcoholic, he primarily responds to his alienation in the form of excessive drinking.
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