Tommy Orange's debut novel, There There, is a powerful exploration of urban Native American identity, weaving together the stories of twelve disparate characters whose lives converge in Oakland, California. The novel argues that for these urban Indigenous people, place is not merely a backdrop but a fundamental component of their identity, deeply intertwined with ancestral memory, historical trauma, and the ongoing struggle for self-definition. Orange illustrates how the physical spaces of the city become imbued with meaning, acting as both sites of profound alienation and unexpected connection, forcing characters to confront their heritage amidst the challenges of modern life.
The characters in There There are shaped by their relationship to Oakland, a city that represents both the promise of a new beginning and the persistent echoes of displacement. For Jacquie Red Feather, a substance abuse counselor, Oakland is a place of refuge, a site where she attempts to reclaim her life and connect with her daughters after years of struggle. Her memories of the land, however, are not confined to California; they stretch back to the reservation, a constant reminder of what was lost and what continues to haunt her. Similarly, Tony Loneman, a young man struggling with addiction and a criminal record, navigates the city's streets, which are not just concrete and asphalt but territories marked by generations of Indigenous presence and subsequent marginalization. His search for belonging is inextricably linked to finding his place within a community, a community he can only understand through its spatial and historical context.
The novel further emphasizes how ancestral memory is anchored to specific locations. Dene Oxendene, a filmmaker documenting the massacre at the Colman Indian Museum, is driven by a desire to preserve the stories and the physical spaces that hold them. The museum itself becomes a focal point, a place where the past is not just remembered but made tangible. This connection to place is not always positive; for some characters, like the brothers Edwin and Lucas, who are grappling with their white father's abandonment, Oakland is a site of confusion, a place where their Indigenous heritage feels distant and ill-defined. Yet, even in their alienation, their physical presence in the city, their daily routines, and their interactions with its urban environment contribute to their evolving sense of self. The novel suggests that even a fragmented connection to a place can serve as a starting point for understanding one's identity.
Historical trauma also saturates the urban landscape in There There. The characters are descendants of those forcibly removed from their lands, and the cities they inhabit are built upon the foundations of erased Indigenous histories. The violence and dispossession of the past are not abstract concepts; they are felt in the present through the systemic issues that plague urban Native communities, such as poverty, addiction, and violence. The mass shooting at the Colman Indian Museum, the novel's climax, tragically brings this to the forefront. The museum, a repository of Indigenous artifacts and stories, becomes the site of a violent confrontation, symbolizing the ongoing conflict between Indigenous peoples and the forces that seek to erase them. The very act of gathering in this specific place, with its loaded history, highlights the potent role of location in understanding collective trauma.
Ultimately, There There demonstrates that for urban Indigenous peoples, identity is a dynamic and contested terrain, profoundly shaped by their relationship with place. The characters’ journeys through Oakland are journeys of self-discovery, where the city's streets, buildings, and even its overlooked corners become repositories of memory and sites of resistance. Orange uses the concept of place to illustrate that Indigenous identity is not solely tied to a romanticized past or a reservation homeland, but is actively being forged in the urban centers where Native peoples now live. The novel is a powerful testament to the enduring connection between Indigenous peoples and the land, even in the most unexpected and seemingly alienating environments, proving that home, and therefore identity, can be found, or built, anywhere.