Tag: Tommy Orange

Wandering Stars – Tommy Orange


This is a brilliant follow-up to Orange’s There There with some of the same characters. The first part of the book is historical, the legacies of the Sand Creek massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Industrial School for Indians. Misguided attempts at assimilation by governments and adoptions are devoted to the eradication of Native history, culture and identity. The next section of the book entitled Aftermath is even better, detailing the brutal reality of contemporary life in Oakland for two grandmothers and their three grandsons. When is life more than surviving?

This book is both shattering and wondrous – highly recommended.

There There – Tommy Orange

There There - Tommy OrangeOrange is one of a group of impressive Indigenous authors introduced to me during the Calgary Word Fest. This is a superb first novel with intersecting characters assembling in Oakland for a Pow-wow. These individuals have links to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma but their Indian identity is very limited: these are urban Indians. For example, a young boy, Orvil Red Feather, learns pow-wow dancing from YouTube videos. The intersecting multi-generational story-lines can be complicated to follow sometimes because of uncertain or unknown parentage, but the culminating climax is presented powerfully. This is excellent story-telling about identity, violence and recovery, of belonging and un-belonging, loss and hope.