The NSC Indigenous Student Alliance, in collaboration with the North Seattle College & Seattle Reads, is hosting a Spoken Word and Q&A Panel, with performances and discussion inspired by Tommy Orange’s novel, There ThereStudents will explore themes such as native identity, culture, and the urban Native American experience.

When: Friday, May 22, 3:00 – 4:30 pm

Where: Join on Zoom

About the Seattle Reads and Indigenous Student Alliance project:

Indigenous Students Alliance aims to provide presence & awareness of Original Peoples in the education system & community.  They have partnered with North Seattle College and the Seattle Reads, the “one book, one city” program started by The Seattle Public Library in 1998 is reading: “There There” by Tommy Orange. The award-winning novel is the first Seattle Reads pick by an indigenous author. Due to COVID-19, Seattle Reads has been postponed until October. Tommy Orange is now scheduled to visit Seattle October 17-18, 2020.

About the book:

There, There bookcoverTommy Orange’s shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to each other in ways they may not yet realize. There is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober, and working to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, who is pulling his life back together after his uncle’s death, has come to work at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil has come to perform a traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American—grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism.

Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, utterly contemporary and always unforgettable.