Indian Killer MCQs

Author's Photo
Have a specific topic you'd like me to cover? Feel free to contact me with your suggestions.
Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 21, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 16 min

Indian Killer MCQs

1. Where was John Smith born?

A. Seattle hospital
B. IHS hospital
C. Delivery room
D. Bellevue clinic

B. IHS hospital.
John was born in a late 1960s Indian Health Service hospital on an unnamed reservation.

2. How old was John’s birth mother?

A. Very young
B. Fifteen
C. Just a child
D. Barely teens

D. Barely teens.
John’s mother was very young, barely into her teens, or fourteen years old, when she gave birth.

3. What was the driver’s relationship to the birth mother?

A. Loving husband
B. Just a cousin
C. True father
D. Unknown relative

B. Just a cousin.
When asked if he was the father, the driver holding his head claimed he was “just her cousin”.

4. Who takes the baby John away immediately after birth?

A. The doctor
B. A white nurse
C. The driver
D. A jumpsuit man

B. A white nurse.
A nurse swaddles John and takes him from the delivery room, carrying him outside to a helicopter.
5. What action accompanied the helicopter’s leaving the reservation?

A. Pilot waves
B. Gunfire starts
C. Doctor runs
D. War beginning

B. Gunfire starts.
As the helicopter rises, the gunman locks and loads, strafing the reservation with explosive shells.

6. Who were John’s adoptive parents?

A. Mary and Robert
B. Olivia and Daniel
C. Linda and Eric
D. Maria and David

B. Olivia and Daniel.
The handsome white couple waiting at the landing area were Olivia and Daniel Smith.

7. Why did the Smiths adopt an Indian baby instead of a white one?

A. They loved Indians
B. It was quicker
C. Less expensive
D. Agent suggested

B. It was quicker.
The adoption agent told the Smiths that finding a white child would take years, but another kind was faster.

8. What physical characteristic did John inherit?

A. Pale skin
B. Brown skin
C. Blue eyes
D. Blond hair

B. Brown skin.
John had brown skin, dark hair, and brown eyes, which contrasted sharply with his white parents.

9. What phrase did John use to avoid the racism he faced?

A. I am strong
B. I’m Navajo
C. I’m Sioux
D. I’m adopted

C. I’m Sioux.
When white people asked his trìbe, John said he was Sioux because that was what they wanted him to be.
10. What profession did John decide upon after high school?

A. Architect
B. Basketball player
C. Steel worker
D. History major

C. Steel worker.
Inspired by an article, John dreamed of working on a skyscraper because he figured it was “the Indian thing to do”.

11. What gift did Olivia give John that she researched?

A. A dreamcatcher
B. Children’s books
C. Navajo rug
D. Sioux clothing

B. Children’s books.
Olivia read all the children’s books about Indians aloud to John, obsessively searching for his face.

12. What did Daniel call John’s loud powwow music?

A. Awful sound
B. Loud drums
C. Too disruptive
D. Teenage rebellion

B. Loud drums.
John would play his powwow music loudly, and Daniel referred to the noise as “Those drums filled the house”.

13. What did Daniel’s doctor say about his sperm count?

A. Excellent condition
B. Below average
C. Average count
D. Perfect results

C. Average count.
The doctor said Daniel’s sperm were of average count, joking that they would win the “bronze” in a swimming race.

14. What did Olivia eventually decide she was trying to create?

A. Valuable artefact
B. Something of worth
C. Great music
D. Something of value

D. Something of value.
Olivia wondered if her son, John, would ever be able to create anything of value.
15. What did Daniel smell when he thought John was in the room?

A. Smoke and sweat
B. Cologne
C. Cheap beer
D. Wet paint

A. Smoke and sweat.
Daniel thought he could smell his son, listing the odour as “Smoke and sweat, sweet and dank”.

16. What was Daniel Smith’s secret hobby?

A. Watching movies
B. Reading atlases
C. Painting landscapes
D. Writing fiction

B. Reading atlases.
Daniel spent hours studying maps in his atlases, dreaming of places he had never been.

17. Who baptised John and became his mentor?

A. Mr. Taylor
B. Jack Wilson
C. Father Duncan
D. Daniel Smith

C. Father Duncan.
John was baptised by Father Duncan, a Spokane Indian Jesuit who took a special interest in him.

18. What terrible myth was associated with the chapel’s stained glass?

A. Made by Indians
B. Stained by blood
C. Very ancient
D. Cursed forever

B. Stained by blood.
A story claimed the blood of the martyred Jesuits was used to stain the vivid red glass in the chapel.

19. Where did Father Duncan disappear?

A. Into the ocean
B. Desert miles
C. The city
D. Back to Spokane

B. Desert miles.
Duncan disappeared, and his tracks were followed for miles into the desert until they stopped.
20. What did Duncan try to pray in?

A. English and Latin
B. English and Spokane
C. Many languages
D. All of the above

D. All of the above.
Duncan prayed in a painful mix of English, Latin, and Spokane, trying to be heard by every version of God.

21. What did John wonder about Duncan’s disappearance?

A. Searching for God
B. New name for God
C. Was he killed
D. Seeking fortune

B. New name for God.
John thought Duncan had perhaps stepped off the edge of the world, looking for a new name for God.

22. What realisation drove John to decide to kill a white man?

A. Foreman laughed
B. Music started
C. Metal sparks
D. Saw General Moustache

C. Metal sparks.
Watching Chuck hammer a nail, John saw sparks turn to flame and knew what to do with his life.

23. Who did the Indian Killer murder the first man?

A. Jack Wilson
B. David Rogers
C. Justin Summers
D. Truck Schultz

C. Justin Summers.
Justin Summers, a bartender, was the first murder victim whose body was found scalped in Fremont.

24. What common item did the Indian Killer believe in?

A. A custom knife
B. Small pistol
C. Baseball bat
D. Poisoned drink

A. A custom knife.
The killer believed in the custom-made Bowie knife with three turquoise gems inlaid in the handle.
25. How did the killer choose his first victim?

A. He was rich
B. At random
C. He was nearest
D. He insulted him

B. At random.
The killer followed white men “selected at random” through downtown Seattle.

26. What was the killer’s trophy from the first victim?

A. Wallet and ring
B. The skull
C. A bloody scalp
D. His blue eyes

C. A bloody scalp.
The killer cut the white man’s scalp away and stuffed the bloody souvenir into a pocket.

27. What did the killer do with the first victim’s eyes?

A. Tore them out
B. Swallowed them
C. Left them open
D. Covered them

B. Swallowed them.
The killer tore the dead white man’s eyes from his face and then swallowed them whole.

28. Who was the first to realise the killer’s identity was ambiguous?

A. Jack Wilson
B. Detective
C. Marie Polatkin
D. Truck Schultz

C. Marie Polatkin.
Marie questioned Mather, asking, “Who’s to say I’m not the Indian Killer?”.

29. What two specific items were left with Mark Jones?

A. Clothes and note
B. Pyjamas and feathers
C. Knife and juice
D. Drawings and toys

B. Pyjamas and feathers.
The Indian Killer sent Truck Schultz a piece of the boy’s pyjamas and two bloody owl feathers.
30. Where did the killer leave Mark Jones when he returned him?

A. In his bed
B. On the couch
C. In the car
D. Next to dad

A. In his bed.
The killer carefully set Mark down beside his mother, who then draped an arm over him.

31. What did the killer feast on after the final murder?

A. Edward’s throat
B. Edward’s heart
C. The knife
D. The quarters

B. Edward’s heart.
After stabbing Edward Letterman multiple times, the killer feasted on his heart.

32. What is Marie Polatkin’s main activity in the city?

A. Student protesting
B. Selling books
C. Serving sandwiches
D. Organising dances

C. Serving sandwiches.
Marie is known as the “Sandwich Lady” and drives a white van distributing food to the hòmeless.

33. What did Marie realise about John after their first encounter?

A. He was wealthy
B. He was hòmeless
C. He was an enemy
D. He was a relative

B. He was hòmeless.
After John rushed away from the sandwich van, Marie realised he must be hòmeless due to his appearance.

34. What group did Marie’s parents refuse to teach her about?

A. Indian history
B. Spokane culture
C. White academics
D. Tribal language

B. Spokane culture.
Marie’s parents, wanting her to belong to the larger world, refused to teach her Spokane culture.
35. What kind of Indian did Marie believe she was?

A. A powerful warrior
B. An urban outcast
C. A traditional dancer
D. A rich business owner

B. An urban outcast.
Marie felt she was an outcast from her trìbe and forced to help create her own urban trìbe.

36. Why did Marie believe white people were scared of her?

A. She was an activist
B. She talked like a 21st-century Indian
C. She carried a knife
D. She was related to Reggie

B. She talked like a 21st-century Indian.
Marie felt Mather couldn’t handle her because she was talking like a “twenty-first-century Indian woman”.

37. What kind of revenge did Marie wonder about achieving against white men?

A. Getting good grades
B. Burning them down
C. Robbing a bank
D. Leaving the city

B. Burning them down.
Marie thought about burning down Mather and every white man, then feasting on their smoke.

38. What surprised Marie regarding hòmeless Indians?

A. Their clothes
B. Their sobriety
C. Their jobs
D. Their violence

B. Their sobriety.
John discovered that many hòmeless Indians refused to drink, which surprised him and Marie.

39. What was Jack Wilson’s original profession?

A. Construction worker
B. Police officer
C. Architect
D. Taxi driver

B. Police officer.
Jack Wilson was a rookie police officer in the Seattle Police Department’s Fourth Precinct in 1977.
40. What was the name of Wilson’s fictional Indian detective hero?

A. Captain Jack
B. John Smith
C. Little Hawk
D. Red Fox

C. Little Hawk.
Wilson’s successful murder mystery novels starred Aristotle Little Hawk, the last Shilshomish Indian.

41. What did Wilson’s agent say made his books popular?

A. Murder mystery
B. Authentic Indian voice
C. Shaman things
D. All of the above

C. Shaman things.
His New York agent said “shaman things,” like after-death experiences and sacred vortexes, were popular.

42. What physical mark did Dr. Clarence Mather wear?

A. A bolo tie
B. A bandage
C. Blue eyes
D. A red suit

B. A bandage.
Dr. Mather wore a bandage because he had run into a low overhang in the basement.

43. How did Reggie Polatkin punish the white college dropout?

A. Shot him
B. Broke his arm
C. Took his money
D. Beat him up

B. Broke his arm.
Reggie ordered Ty to twist the white man’s arm until something popped, recording his scream.

44. What terrible act did Reggie perform on the white man?

A. Took his eyes
B. Took his glasses
C. Set him on fire
D. Left him tied

A. Took his eyes.
Reggie forced his thumbs into the white man’s eyes, taking them and shocking his friends.
45. What two people confronted John in front of Wilson’s apartment?

A. Wilson and Eric
B. Daniel and Olivia
C. Reggie and Ty
D. Mather and Faulkner

A. Wilson and Eric.
Wilson (the writer) and Eric (the cab driver) confronted John outside Wilson’s apartment building.

46. What did John take away from the cab driver?

A. Sawed-off club
B. His car keys
C. His wallet
D. His jacket

A. Sawed-off club.
Eric swung his one-iron golf club blindly at John, who snatched it out of the air.

47. Who informed Wilson that John Smith might be the Indian Killer?

A. Marie Polatkin
B. A detective
C. His foreman
D. Paul Too

C. His foreman.
The foreman came to the precinct, saying John Smith, the quiet Indian, acted strange and might be the killer.

48. What was Wilson’s reaction when John held a pistol to his head?

A. He confessed
B. He pleaded
C. He fought back
D. He laughed

B. He pleaded.
Wilson begged for his life, saying, “Don’t hurt me. I’m not a white man. I’m Indian”.

49. How did John finally wound Jack Wilson?

A. Stabbing his chest
B. Slashing his face
C. Cutting his throat
D. Shooting his head

B. Slashing his face.
John slashed Wilson’s face, creating a permanent mark that people would know him by.
50. What happened immediately after John stepped off the skyscraper?

A. He was arrested
B. He was unharmed
C. He found his parents
D. He went into the desert

D. He went into the desert.
After John’s body was embedded in the pavement, his spirit/self strode naked into the desert.

Brief Overview

Indian Killer is a novel by Sherman Alexie, first published in 1996. It is a psychological thriller that fiercely examines themes of identity, racism, and generational trauma within an urban setting.

The novel centers on a young man named John Smith. He is an Américan Indian who was adopted and raised by a wealthy white family. John deeply struggles with his sense of self and feels intense anger, often experiencing disturbing visions and hearing strange music in his head. Eventually, John decides he needs to kill a white man.

An unknown killer starts scalping and murdering white men in Seattle, such as Justin Summers. The killer also kidnaps a young boy, Mark Jones. The killer leaves two owl feathers at the scene of the crimes.

A racist radio personality, Truck Schultz, uses the murders to spread hate against all Indians. This inflammatory rhetoric incites white people to attack local Native Americans violently.

John meets Marie Polatkin, a Spokane student who helps feed the homéless. She is angry at white people who falsely claim to be Indian, like the author Jack Wilson. John eventually finds Wilson tied up on a skyscraper. John cuts Wilson’s face. John then steps off the building and falls to his death. He is wrongly identified as the true “Indian Killer.”

Related Posts

Leave a comment

SpunkNotes

Typically replies within few hours

Hello, Welcome to the site. If you have any inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact.