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“Your drinking, which was related to your skin problems, which was related to your father, which was related to history”

What is it about this quote that ties into the theme of generational trauma?

Something I learned about Native American culture is that they have been so scarred and burned it is apparent that it has affected them to do things like drinking because how it was all around from their parents and their parents parents.

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“Opal is full of regrets, but not about things she’s done. That damn island, her mom, Ronald, and then the shuffling, stifling rooms and faces in foster care, in group homes after that. She regrets that they happened. It doesn’t matter that she didn’t cause them to happen. She figures she must deserve it in some way. But she couldn’t figure it out.” (Part III, pg. 161-162)

Why does Opal regret everything that's happened in the past even though she had nothing to do with any of it?

Something I've learned about Native culture is that Native people today have a lot of past trauma, whether it be because of what they've seen or what their ancestors have seen. It also seems like some think that the past trauma is because of them.

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"What? You don't think it's real? The people who run this shit are real-life monsters. The people you never see. What they want is more and more, and when that isn't enough, they want what can't be gotten easily, the recorded screams of dying Indian women, maybe even a taxidermied torso, a collection of Indian women's heads, …" - Geraldine

What is Geraldine trying to say about those in power?

She implies that those who have power are ruthless and selfish, driven by greed and a need for control. They are compared to monsters who only seek wealth and take pleasure in the suffering and degradation of indigenous people.

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“Opal always wondered if Ronald was white. He did all kinds of Indian things, but he looked as white as any white man she’d ever seen.” (p. 169)

Is it a struggle for all native Americans trying to figure out who is native and who isn't?

Somethign I learned about natve American culture Is that there's lots of people that are natiev but don't look like it.

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"I've been trying to figure out what it means to be Indian, and I think I have to learn it, but the learning part is the hardest part. It's not like just knowing stuff. It's not like a lesson. It's something you have to feel."

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"I've been trying to figure out what it means to be Indian, and I think I have to learn it, but the learning part is the hardest part. It's not like just knowing stuff. It's not like a lesson. It's something you have to feel."

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How does Orvil's struggle connect to the bigger overall themes of identity and generational trauma?

Something I learned about native Americans is that many natives living in urban cities struggle with feeling like having two identities.

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"The wound that was made when white people came and took all that they took has never healed. An unattended wound gets infected."

Question: How have the characters dealt with the history of their culture?

Something I learned about Native Culture is how difficult it has been to live with their tragic history.

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"They yelled and pushed at each other like they werekids again. Like it used to be over simpler stuff like video games." (Daniel Gonzales, Pg.188)

What do the powwows mean to each character? Or do they mean anything to some.

Something I learned about Native Americans is how distant some are from their Native identity.Some parents chose to ignore thier Native identity once they had kids becuase of their own bad experience, which leads to the kids not knowing who they are as a person, and leaving them with the feeling of incomplete.

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Quote:

“She could have waved first, then you couldn’t help but copy. But look at this,” he said. and then he broke out into a wild dance. Arms flailing, he jumped and spun. It looked to Opal like he was powwow dancing. But he couldn’t have been. He was just trying to act crazy in front of the mirror to prove no one else was in control but him, the Orvil on this side of the mirror”

Question:

Why is Orvil struggling to connect to his culture so much?

Something I learned is Peyote Medicine and its usage

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"But Native people know that the real power is in the noise, the sound of the drum, the sound of the foot tapping, the sound of the old ones singing."

How does the idea of sound and noise function symbolically in There There? How does it connect to themes of identity, trauma, and resilience?

I didn’t realize the extent to which urban Native Americans struggle with maintaining their cultural identity.

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"She told herself not to be afraid. But she was afraid. She was afraid of the world opening up, afraid of the future, afraid of the past coming back"

Q: Why would she be deeply terrified of her past identity?

I never truly realized how many Native Americans stayed quiet of their true identity because of them being scared of what could happen to them.

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tony turns around at the sound of gunfire, thinking they might be shooting at him

they are united at the pow wow

i wonder how people felt seeing everyone get shot around them

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"Her mom said spiders carry miles of web in their bodies, miles of story, miles of potential home and trap. she said that's what we are home and trap." pg. 163

-Why is the home and trap quote so important it keeps being brought up?

- Something new I learned is that native Americans always find a way back to their culture even after being forced to separate from it.

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"Death alone eludes hard work and hardheadedness. that and memory. but there's no time and no good reason most of the time to look back. leave them alone and memories blur into a summary. opal preferred to keep them there as just that."

How does Opal's perspective about leaving stuff in the past relate to how she deals with all the trauma she has?

Something I learned was that people use superstitions to feel in control of things that happen to them.

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“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”

How does this tie into the theme of identity while also being tied to the historical context?

I learned that modern-day Native Americans don't have to be fully engaged with their historical roots in order to be connected with their culture

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"Everything can be drumming whether rhythm is kept or strays. Even gunshots and backfire, the howl of trains at night, the wind against your windows. The world is made of sound. But inside every kind of sound lurked a sadness.”

What's the significance of the part "inside every kind of sound lurked a sadness"?

I learned that a significant number of Native Americans live in urban areas than in reservations.