FCC Research Guides: Fall 2022 Campus Book Discussion: There There: This Semester's Book: There There

This Semester's Book: There There

Fall 2021 Campus Book

There There by Tommy Orange
Publication Date: 2018
There There is the "brilliant, propulsive" (People Magazine) story of twelve unforgettable characters, Urban Indians living in Oakland, California, who converge and collide on one fateful day. It's "the year's most galvanizing debut novel" (Entertainment Weekly). As we learn the reasons that each person is attending the Big Oakland Powwow--some generous, some fearful, some joyful, some violent--momentum builds toward a shocking yet inevitable conclusion that changes everything. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will to perform in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion, and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and loss. There There is a wondrous and shattering portrait of an America few of us have ever seen.

About Tommy Orange

Tommy Orange
Tommy Orange (born January 19, 1982) is an American novelist and writer from Oakland, California. His first book There There was one of the finalists for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize and received the 2019 American Book Award. Orange is a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. After graduating from college, he got a job at a bookstore where he developed a passion for reading.

Resources

About the Resources

This list of resources lines up with the 2021/22 Campus Book Discussion topics (Generational Trauma and Resistance, and Identity and Storytelling) for There There by Tommy Orange. Also included are Other Resources, which includes, but is not limited to, lesson plans and information about Oakland, California, the setting of the novel.

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan for There There
Twenty-eight-page downloadable PDF that provides Reader-Response questions, Assessments (Analytical and Creative), and links to online resources, including author profile.

Generational Trauma & Resistance

Interior Secretary Haaland Launches Inquiry Into Past Abuses At Native American Boarding Schools (Article)
An Associated Press article from June 23rd, 2021.
The Legacy of Trauma
A 2019 American Psychological Association article that discusses how an emerging line of research is exploring how historical and cultural traumas affect survivors’ children for generations to come.

Resources from the FCC Databases, requires an FCC Login off-campus.

Historical Trauma
"Historical trauma is generally defined as the long-term, collective adverse impact of certain historical events, such as genocide, on a particular social group. Its symptoms occur over the lifespan of individuals and are transmitted from generation to generation, especially when a group has collectively experienced, or is still experiencing, historic situations of extreme humiliation, persecution, prejudice, oppression, anger, and, in some cases, massive extermination. "
Resistance and Accommodation
"To fight and quite possibly die? Or to acquiesce in one's fate as a slave or conquered person? This has been the classic choice presented by conventional definitions of resistance and accommodation. ."

Understanding and Healing Historical Trauma: The Perspectives of Native American Elders
In this phenomenological study 11 Native American elders addressed three research questions: (a) the effect of historical trauma on self, family, and community; (h) how historical trauma currently affects Native people and their communities; and (c) what they would recommend that counselors and therapists do in addressing issues of historical trauma for Native and tribal people.
Historical Trauma, Substance Use, and Indigenous Peoples: Seven Generations of Harm From a 'Big Event'
Indigenous peoples the world over have and continue to experience the devastating effects of colonialism including loss of life, land, language, culture, and identity. Indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately across many health risk factors including an increased risk of substance use. We use the term 'Big Event' to describe the historical trauma attributed to colonial policies as a potential pathway to explain the disparity in rates of substance use among many Indigenous populations. ."
Tribal Disobedience
The article presents an essay on the significance of tribal disobedience to the survival of American Indians which is seen by the U.S. government as a threat to national security. It is a process by which Indians took in unruly actions against the government to defend their constitutional rights.
Indigenous Peoples without the Republic
The article looks at the history of America and the relationship between indigenous people and the American Revolution. Topics include Native Indians' resistance against British conquest in America, their decision to assist the British, and the details on the settler colonialism. Details related to metropolitan governance of the indigenous people, violence by the Native Indians against settlers, and land transactions' imperial restrictions are also included.

Identity and Storytelling

How Storytelling Impacts our Identities
Prof. Andrea Breen studies how storytelling defines us and shapes our experiences.
Open Educational Resource: Storytelling and Identity: Writing Yourself Into Existence
This paper shows how the elements of storytelling restore identity after trauma and highlights the idea that writing shapes how we do, be, and make in the world.
The Two Kinds of Stories We Tell About Ourselves
An article from Ideas.Ted.Com about how we can share and shape our personal histories to live with more meaning and purpose.
Writing More Diverse Narrative w. Tommy Orange (Podcast)
WMFA podcast hosted by Courtney Balistere (sp). Length: 46:04
'Writing out of a loneliness,' novelist explores the range of native experiences
A segment from December 14, 2018 that appeared on PBS NewsHour.

Resources from the FCC Databases, requires an FCC Login off-campus.

Identity
"In brief, identity can be defined as a person's largely unconscious sense of self, both as an individual and as part of the larger society. It influences with whom people affiliate and from whom they withdraw, why and how they see the world the way they do, and to what extent they are willing to engage with people who are different from themselves. ."
Storytelling
"Once upon a time, before words were written, before cultures and societies were observed and analyzed, there was storytelling. Storytelling has been a part of humanity since people were able to communicate and respond to the basic biological urge to explain, educate, and enlighten. Defining storytelling is not a simple matter. ."

Being Native to This Land
The author presents a personal narrative of her experience as Representative for the Busby District on the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council dealing with the struggle for native identity for Northern Cheyenne people, her family lineage, and their relation with the whites.
Perspectives on California Native Identity
In this article various people share their perspective on their California native identity.
Why We Are Sticking To Our Stories
In this article, the author remembers her childhood and how her father would entertain and educate the family in the Diné language and how her mother would tells stories in English during the summers. Stories of Ma'ii or Coyote and other animals told in great detail were the joys of the seasons for the children. The author also talks about the songs of the Diné people and how being raised with oral tradition means so much to her.
Saving Our Stories: Sustaining California Indigenous Knowledge
California tribal cultural heritage, conveyed by storytellers, elders, family members, researchers, community guests, and others, has historically assisted tribes healing from trauma while supporting tribal identity, language, and the surrounding ecosystems, including those containing cultural resources such as basketweaving material and native food sources.

Oakland, CA

Giving an Underrepresented Community and City a Place in Literature (Article)
An interview with Tommy Orange specifically about his history with and writing of Oakland, the city where he lived for a decade before publishing There There.
In Oakland, Native American Traditions just a Drumbeat Away
A slice-of-life description of the Intertribal Friendship house and powwow culture in Oakland. Includes a slideshow of photographs.
A Native Land: Oakland Pre 1852
A summary of the phases of human occupation of the land now known as Oakland, starting with the Ohlone tribe and then the Spanish settlers.

Other Resources

Cheyenne—Warriors of the Great Plains (Article)
Historical overview of the Cheyenne Tribe.
Most Native Americans Live in Cities, Not Reservations. Here are Their Stories (Article)
An article from September 4, 2017 published on The Guardian. Written by Joe Whittle, an enrolled Caddo tribal member, freelance photojournalist and seasonal field ranger for US Forest Service living in Oregon.

Book Resources and Reviews

There There, by Tommy Orange (Audiobook Excerpt)
The first eight pages of the novel. Narrated by Alma Cuervo, Kyla Garcia, Darrell Dennis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett.
Reader’s Guide: There There
Sixteen questions and topics for discussion.
Study Guide: There There
From LitCharts. Includes Introduction, Plot Summary, Summary & Analysis, among other resources.
Pithy And Pointed 'There There' Puts Native American Voices Front And Center
"Here's the thing about There There, the debut novel by Native American author Tommy Orange: Even if the rest of its story were just so-so — and it's much more than that — the novel's prologue would make this book worth reading."
Yes, Tommy Orange’s New Novel Really Is That Good
"In Tommy Orange’s “There There,” an ambitious meditation on identity and its broken alternatives, on myth filtered through the lens of time and poverty and urban life, on tradition all the more pressing because of its fragility, it is as if he seeks to reconfigure Oakland as a locus of desire and dreams, to remake the city in the likeness of his large and fascinating set of characters."
Kirkus Reviews: There, There by Tommy Orange
"In this vivid and moving book, Orange articulates the challenges and complexities not only of Native Americans, but also of America itself."
What Does it Mean to be Native American? A New Novel Offers a Bracing Answer
"Toward the end of Tommy Orange’s devastating debut novel, a 4-year-old Native American boy keeps asking his grandma: 'What are we? What are we?' The boy has no way of knowing, but that’s a blood-soaked question that Western invaders have made Indians ask themselves for centuries."

Author Interviews

An Interview with Tommy Orange (Audio)
An interview from April 18, 2019 that aired on Spokane Public Radio. Length: 16:25.
Tommy Orange in Conversation with Jeff Chang
Jeff Chang - journalist, music critic, and author - interviews Tommy Orange about his debut novel.
A Q&A with Tommy Orange
"Bookselling This Week" speaks with Orange about his new book, which encapsulates different perspectives within the contemporary urban Native experience.
Praise for ‘There There’ Still Flowing for Debut Author Tommy Orange
Tommy Orange is interviewed by Austin360.
Tommy Orange adjusts to all the attention as a ‘There There’ sequel flows along
The Los Angeles Times interviews Tommy Orange.

Author Appearances

Tommy Orange reads There There (Video)
The author reads an excerpt from his novel.
Tommy Orange, There There
Tommy Orange discusses his book, "There, There" at Politics and Prose at the Wharf on 6/25/18.
Audience Q&A: Tommy Orange
Author Tommy Orange answers questions from a live studio audience, including: Can you describe your creative process? Did you intend "There There" to be "sad?"
Author Tommy Orange in Conversation with Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Samuel Getachew
The Oakland Public Library hosted a conversation between award-winning author Tommy Orange and 2019 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Samuel Getachew at the Oakland Museum of California on November 1, 2019.

Discussion Events

Discussion Dates and Times

"Let's Get Together and Feel Alright: An Exploration of Cultural Mass Gatherings”

Tue., 10/11/22; 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.; Room E126B and Hybrid

Led by Professors Shemica Sheppard and Joe Healey, this discussion will examine the Big Oakland Powwow, referenced in Tommy Orange's There There, and its importance for Native American culture. Facilitators will also consider modern mass gatherings (i.e. concerts, sports events, parades, etc.) and what they reveal about our culture.

"The Power of Place"

Wed., 11/02/22; 12:30 p. m -1:45 p.m.; Room E123 & Hybrid

Facilitators Laura Cordova and Lauren Lippiello will explore the phrase "There There," and its relationship to the destruction of Native American land and its effect on identity and culture.

Students, faculty, and staff are welcomed to attend the following discussions, which focus on themes in the book. Reading the book is strongly recommended but not required for participation.

Please RSVP at FCC Employment calendar or scan the QR code:

Discussion Questions

The prologue of There There provides a historical overview of how Native populations were systematically stripped of their identity, their rights, their land, and, in some cases, their very existence by colonialist forces in America. How did reading this section make you feel? How does the prologue set the tone for the reader? Discuss the use of the Indian head as iconography. How does this relate to the erasure of Native identity in American culture?
Discuss the development of the “Urban Indian” identity and ownership of that label. How does it relate to the push for assimilation by the United States government? How do the characters in There There navigate this modern form of identity alongside their ancestral roots?
Consider the following statement from page 9: “We stayed because the city sounds like a war, and you can’t leave a war once you’ve been, you can only keep it at bay.” In what ways does the historical precedent for violent removal of Native populations filter into the modern era? How does violence—both internal and external—appear throughout the narrative?
On page 7, Orange states: “We’ve been defined by everyone else and continue to be slandered despite easy-to-look-up-on-the-internet facts about the realities of our histories and current state as a people.” Discuss this statement in relation to how Native populations have been defined in popular culture. How do the characters in There There resist the simplification and flattening of their cultural identity? Relate the idea of preserving cultural identity to Dene Oxendene’s storytelling mission.
Tony Loneman’s perspective both opens and closes There There. Why do you think Orange made this choice for the narrative? What does Loneman’s perspective reveal about the “Urban Indian” identity? About the landscape of Oakland?
When readers are first introduced to Dene Oxendene, we learn of his impulse to tag various spots around the city. How did you interpret this act? How does graffiti culture work to recontextualize public spaces?
Discuss the interaction between Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield and Two Shoes that occurs on pages 50–52. How does Opal view Two Shoes’s “Indianness”? What is the import of the Teddy Roosevelt anecdote that he shares with her? How does this relate to the overall theme of narrative and authenticity that occurs throughout There There?
Describe the resettlement efforts at Alcatraz. What are the goals for inhabiting this land? What vision does Opal and Jacquie’s mother have for her family in moving to Alcatraz?
On page 58, Opal’s mother tells her that she needs to honor her people “by living right, by telling our stories. [That] the world was made of stories, nothing else, and stories about stories.” How does this emphasis on storytelling function throughout There There? Consider the relationship between storytelling and power. How does storytelling allow for diverse narratives to emerge? What is the relationship between storytelling and historical memory?
On page 77, Edwin Black asserts, “The problem with Indigenous art in general is that it’s stuck in the past.” How does the tension between modernity and tradition emerge throughout the narrative? Which characters seek to find a balance between honoring the past and looking toward the future? When is the attempt to do so successful?
Discuss the generational attitudes toward spirituality in the Native community in There There. Which characters embrace their elders’ spiritual practices? Who doubts the efficacy of those efforts? How did you interpret the incident of Orvil and the spider legs?
How is the city of Oakland characterized in the novel? How does the city’s gentrification affect the novel’s characters? Their attitudes toward home and stability?
How is femininity depicted in There There? What roles do the female characters assume in their community? Within their families?
Discuss Orvil’s choice to participate in the powwow. What attracts him to the event? Why does Opal initially reject his interest in “Indianness”? How do his brothers react to it?
Discuss the Interlude that occurs on pages 134–41. What is the import of this section? How does it provide key contextual information for the Big Oakland PowWow that occurs at the end of the novel? What is the significance of this event and others like it for the Native community?
Examine the structure of There There. Why do you think Orange chose to present his narrative using different voices and different perspectives? How do the interlude and the prologue help to bolster the themes of the narrative? What was the most surprising element of the novel to you? What was its moment of greatest impact?

[Source: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/563403/there-there-by-tommy-orange/9780525436140/readers-guide/]