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Quote: "Jacquie's latest relapse had not left burn holes in her life. She didn't lose her job, and she hadn't;t wrecked her car. She was sober again, and then days are the same as a year when you want to drink all the time"

(pg.99)

Question: Is there a significance to the repetition of spiders in legs? Is it a metaphor?

Something new I learned was that Native Americans used to not have last names, just first names.

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Quote: “Being bipolar is like having an ax to grind with an ax you need to split the wood to keep you warm in a cold dark forest you might only eventually realize you’ll never make your way out of"

Question: Is there a deeper meaning in this quote?

I learned a lot about the importance of connecting with your culture.

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Quote: “There was even one time, when he was dancing Opal’s room with his eyes closed, when he felt like it was all his ancestors who made it so he could be there dancing and listening to that sound, singing right there in his ears through all those hard years they made it through.”

Question: How do Orvil's efforts to reconnect with his Native identity reflect the preservation of culture in modern society?

A new piece of information I learned was that many individuals have a cultural disconnection, such as Orvil and his struggle to understand his heritage without the help of family due to erasure of the culture historically.

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A quote I would like to discuss would be “The wound that was made when white people came and took all they took has never healed. An unattended wound gets infected."

Question: How does using the metaphor of "unattended wound" in this quote connect the historical struggles and the struggles of this particular character to each other?

Something new I have learned could be how cultural dances performed are usually in memory of a passed loved one.

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Quote: " When we go to tell our stories people think we want it to have gone different. People want to say things like "sore losers", and "move on already," "quit playing the blame game." But is it a game?"

Question: By saying "people think we want it to have gone different," what do they mean by that, did they not want it to have gone different?

Something I learned: I learned that a lot of natives struggle/struggled with alcohol more at a young age.

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Quote: "Jacquie Kneeled in front of the mini-fridge. In her head, she heard her mom say, "The Spider's web is a home and a trap." Jacquie did not know what her mother meant by this quote exactly but she used her own rough times and personal experience to make this quote make sense to her.

Something I learned is that Native Americans are really connected with nature and Spirital Animals or anncestors

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Quote: “We ride for those who can’t. We dance for those who are gone.”

How does the idea of dancing and riding as an act of remembrance connect to the theme of cultural survival in the novel?

I discovered that, particularly in metropolitan environments where many people feel cut off from their roots, Native American customs like storytelling and dance serve as both acts of resistance and survival in addition to being cultural expressions.

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Quote: "In this case Jacquie was the spider and the mini fridge was the web."

Question: What is the book leading to in terms of dialect? As of now it feels like were just reading random stuff

Something I learned: I learned that Native Americans have a cultural importance to a lot of western culture but has been replaced for something else/different.

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quote: "I feel bad… even saying I'm Native. Mostly I just feel like I'm from Oakland.”

question: how do spiders show a significance in the story

I learned that native Americans struggle a lot with mental health and addiction since the movement of the U.S.

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Quote: ¨Jacquie kneeled in front of the minifridge. In her head she heard her mom say, “The spider's web is a home and a trap.” And even though she never really knew what her mom meant by it, she’d been making it make sense over the years, giving it more meaning than her mom probably ever intended. In this case Jacquie was the spider, and the mini-fridge was the web. Home was to drink. To drink was the trap. Or something like that. The point was Do not open the fridge. And she didn’t.¨

Question: How does Jacquie´s interpretation of her mother´s saying about the spider´s web reflect her internal conflict and decision making process in this moment?

Something New I learned: I learned that Native Americans struggled with mental health a lot, and a lot of them don´t really know much about their culture.

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Quote:
"You have to dance like the world is ending. You have to dance for the people who are gone."

Question:
How does the concept of intergenerational trauma affect the characters' identities and their connection to their Native heritage?

Something New I Learned:
I didn’t realize how urban Native Americans often struggle with maintaining their cultural identity, especially when they are disconnected from their tribal lands. The book highlights the challenges of living in a city while trying to preserve traditions and navigate the lasting effects of historical trauma.

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quote : Jacquie kneeled in front of the minifridge. In her head she heard her mom say, “The spider's web is a home and a trap.” And even though she never really knew what her mom meant by it, she’d been making it make sense over the years, giving it more meaning than her mom probably ever intended. In this case Jacquie was the spider, and the minifridge was the web. Home was to drink. To drink was the trap. Or something like that. The point was Do not open the fridge. And she didn’t.

question: how do spiders identify are characters feeling and identity

something new I learned is that they use a lot of spiritual references to shows the characters identity or how they deal with problems.

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Quote: "Getting lost is just another way of saying 'going exploring.'" - Tommy Orange, "There There"

Question: How does the theme of identity and belonging manifest through the different characters in Part II and the Interlude?

Something new I learned: I learned about the significance of the urban Native American experience and how it differs from the traditional reservation life. This perspective highlighted the unique challenges and cultural preservation efforts faced by Native Americans living in cities.

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Quote: “The spider’s web is a home and a trap” (pg 101)

Question: What significance do spiders hold in the story as they're mentioned by Opal and Jacquie's mom and Orvil when he removes them from his leg?

Something I learned: I learned about Native blood quantum that decided that if you were half Native, you were not equal to that of a white man. This is seen now as tribal membership is tied to blood quantum.

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Quote:"Look. See here the way it's gonna be is, first you're gonna give me all your land, then your attention, until you forget how to give it" Page 106

Question:Why does opal not want her nephews to know about their Native culture?

Something I learned: I learned how many Native Americans struggle with addiction and mental health problems and how some of them know little of their culture but are interested in learning about it.

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Quote: "We didn’t have last names before they came. When they decided they needed to keep track of us, last names were given to us, just like the name Indian itself was given to us." (Interlude pg 139)

Question: What do the "spider legs" that Orvil has represent and what does removing them represent?

Something I learned: Something I learned was that Native Americans originally did not have last names until they had to be "kept track of."

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Quote: “I know what I look like. I know what it means. I know the way people see me. I don’t care.”

Question: How are the Native people affected by being passionate about their culture, and could it affect them on a deeper level like causing insecurities and mental health issues?

Something I learned is that even people like Tony who are, on the outside, tough and unaffected by the prosecution of their culture, could be struggling immensely on the inside.

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Question: What does the spider mean to Jacquie and the red feather family?

Quote discussion: ¨The wound that was made when white people came and took all that they took has never healed¨

Something I learned: I learned that running and hosting a powwow is a lot more than just a party its a lot bigger.

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Quote discussion: "The stabbing was coincidental, it was self-defense. He didn't know how the knife ended up in his hand. Sometimes you just did things, you acted or reacted the way you needed to. The problem had been that Bill couldn't get his own story straight."

Question: When people today learn of their heritage are there any push back from the people around them so they stay assimilated into American culture. Ultimately, I want to ask if we still get uncomfortable with cultures outside our own and still push back people with differences.

Something new I learned about the Native American experience is that running a Powwow is so grander than I expected as I've only heard of cultural events with maybe 30 people. However, this culture seems very engaged and appreciative despite the passing time.

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A quote I found interesting was when Dene said ¨What does it mean to you when I say story¨-pg 123

Question- does a story have to be the truth and something that happened to you or something you hear to be able to change someone´s perspective or can it be fictional?

Something I learned was that a story can be written with a happy, sad, or mad tone, but the way the reader reads can change the feeling of the story completely.

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Quote Discussion: "And anyway, anything you hear from me about your heritage does not make you more or less Indian. More or less a real Indian"

Question: What makes a Native American who they are and in general does knowing your heritage make you who you are?

Something I learned about was the Native blood quantum being introduced in 1705 at the Virginia Colony.

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A quote I'd like to discuss is - "There’s gotta be some reason for all this. That we would meet like this,” Harvey said, holding the elevator by putting his arm across the threshold. “The reason is we’re both fuckups and the Indian world is small.”

Question - What are some possible things the spider on Orvil's leg could symbolize?

Something New - I also learned that Native Americans have special health clinics

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A quote I would like to discuss is "The spider web is a home and a trap." pg 101

a question I want to discuss is why is Jacquie so quick to dismiss the question Opal asked her about the spider and what is its reference.

Something new I learned about Native Americans is that some have special health clinics funded by Indian Health Services.

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Something I learned about the Native American experience is that they didn't have last names before the Europeans came. The Europeans gave them last names.

Question: Who is the father of Jacquie Red Feather's second daughter, Jamie?

Discuss: "Jacquie kneeled in front of the mini fridge. In her head she heard her mom say, 'The spider's web is a home and a trap.' And even though she never really knew what her mom meant by it, she'd been making it make sense over the years, giving it more meaning than her mom probably ever intended."

I thought this quote was interesting because I feel like it relates to a lot of the characters in the novel.

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Something I learned was all the different locations Native Americans come from to attend powwows, from Oklahoma to New York City, they make an effort to connect and express their culture.

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Question: Why doesn't Jacquie allow Opal to send her pictures of her grandsons through their messages? Only email.

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Discuss: "So I pulled, like, I just pulled one out, put it on some folded-up toilet paper, then went back in and got another one. Then one more after that. I'm pretty sure they're spider legs," Orvil says.

I want to discuss the meaning of spiders as they're mentioned a few other times before throughout the text.