Indigeneity as Alive: Tommy Orange’s Framework for a Present Tense People in There There
Greg Riggio
Publication: Volume 3 Issue 3
Abstract
This paper explores the postmodern framework Tommy Orange crafts in There There to challenge hegemonic conceptions of indigeneity. These monolithic representations set limits on Indigenous peoples’ ability to see themselves represented in the present tense real-world, thus, limiting their ability to see themselves as present tense peoples. As Orange’s narrator-character states, “We’ve been fighting for decades to be recognized as present-tense peoples, modern and relevant, alive, only to die in the grass wearing feathers.” This usage of feathers is a reference to the process of being made into a relic in the American marketplace and historical narrative. Another of Orange’s characters repeats this idea by referring to it as a photocopy of a copy of the image of an “Indian” in a textbook. This paper analyzes the postmodern literary techniques Orange uses to indigenize sources of power in the contemporary world in order to create strategies for Indigenous peoples living today to be modern, relevant, and alive.
Keywords: Indigenous Peoples, Representations, Present Tense People, Postmodernism, Social Media, Tommy Orange
Greg Riggio (gregriggio@gmail.com) is an educator and independent scholar. He earned his MA in English from Montclair State University in 2019. His research interests are based on a concern with narratives of power in historical and cultural frameworks, especially as they affect Indigenous and minoritized peoples. In particular, he focuses on problematic representations engendered by American ideology, modernist nostalgia, and popular culture.