In
Tommy Orange’s book There There, Orange begins with an introduction that informs the reader of past atrocities that were committed against the Native American people, as well as atrocities that are still being committed against the Native American people. For example, Orange says,
“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. We have the sad, defeated Indian silhouette, and the heads rolling down temple stairs, we have it in our heads, Kevin Costnersaving us, John Wayne’s six-shooter slaying us, an Italian guy named Iron Eyes Cody playing our parts in movies.” (Orange 7).
Orange makes it known to his readers that Native Americans were massacred, and those who survived are being treated as if they don’t exist. Orange then begins to split the book by the characters. So the first character we read about is Tony Loneman, followed by Dene Oxendene, Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, Edwin Black, Bill Davis, Calvin Johnson, Jacquie Red Feather, and Orvil Red Feather. Each of the characters that have been introduced so far each have their own issues and crosses to bear. The characters portray the struggles that are faced everyday by the Native American people.
Orange manages to surprise his readers with the representations of contemporary urban Native Americans. I was surprised by how differently Native Americans are portrayed in Orange’s There There compared to how they are represented in movies and tv shows today. In film and television today, Native Americans are often portrayed as savages that can barely speak English. Native Americans are commonly represented as stoic indians, magical medicine men, and bloodthirsty warriors that live in the wild or on reservations. Contrasting to film’s representation of Native Americans, in Orange’s book he represents Native Americans as everyday people that have many challenges and have no trouble speaking English. He also represents his characters as modern Native Americans who are still bearing the weight of their horrific histories. For example, in the story of Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, it says,
“‘We’re going to be with our relatives, Indians of All Tribes. We’re going over to where they built that prison. Gonna start from inside the cell, which is where we are now, Indian people, that’s where they got us, even though they don’t make it seem like they got us there. We’re gonna work our way out from the inside with a spoon. Here, look at this.’ She handed me a laminated card from her purse the size of a playing card. It was that picture you see everywhere, the sa-Indian-on-a-horse silhouette, and on the other side it said Crazy Horse’s Prophecy. I read it: Upon suffering beyond suffering; the Red Nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world. A world filled with broken promises, selfishness, and separations. A world longing for light again, I see a time of seven generations, when all the colors of mankind will gather under the sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again.” (Orange 48).
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