THe next day the Massachusetts Bay Colony had a feast in celebration, adn the governor declared it a day of thanksgiving. Colonists surrounded their village, set it on fire, and shot any Pequot who tried to escape.

In 1637, anywhere from four to seven hundred Pequot gathered for their annual Green Corn Dance. In what ways does the historical violence enacted upon Native populations filter into the modern era? How does violence-both internal and external-appear throughout the narrative and impact each of the character’s understanding of their place in the world? In the introduction to There, There, Orange names one section “massacre as prologue” and discusses the ways in which indigenous communities inherit narratives about genocides and massacres told to them at an early age. How does this quote illuminate the different ideas of home presented throughout the text? What kind of practices do the characters engage in to make a home for themselves? But the city made us new, and we made it ours” (8). Speaking specifically about the experience of Urban Indians, Orange writes, “Getting us to the cities was supposed to be the final, necessary step in our assimilation, absorption, erasure, the completion of a five-hundred-year-old genocidal campaign. How have you reflected on your relationship with your last name? How have you committed to learning more about the historical foundations of the United States tied to genocide and slavery?

Follow it back and you might find your line paved with gold, or beset with traps” (139).

Halfway through the text, Orange claims, “If you were fortunate enough to be born into a family whose ancestors directly benefited from genocide and/or slavery, maybe you think the more you don’t know, the more innocent you can stay, which is a good incentive to not find out, to not look too deep, to walk carefully around the sleeping tiger. There, There provides much for us to think about in terms of the connection between history and personal experience. How does this passage relate to the depiction of Native communities in popular culture, especially as we reflect on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday celebrated in the US? In what ways does the passage relate to the ongoing erasure of Native stories? In the first few pages of There, There, Tommy Orange writes, “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” (7).

There there book