The Fairfax
Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, November 14th at 7:00 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax
Library to discuss our November book, There There by Tommy Orange.
Here are some
links for additional background and information:
Check out the
California Pow Wow
website to find other pow wows
Coming up, we
have the following book to look forward to reading:
Thurs.
Dec. 12th Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
Thanks for
reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of
the Fairfax Library
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. 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.
5. 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?
6. 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?
7. 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?
8. 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?
9. 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?
10. 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?
11. 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?
12. 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?
13. How is femininity depicted in There There? What
roles do the female characters assume in their community? Within their
families?
14. 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?
15. 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?
16. 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?
