Project by: Emma Diamond (11th Grade), Margaret MacGillivray (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Calvin Walds
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Shauna Finn, Charlene Cruz-Cerdas
Description of the Project:
This is an exploration of Native American Literature and Film. We became interested in this topic because we were impacted by a book we read last year in English class, Nature Poem, by Tommy Pico and we wanted to increase our understanding of the experiences of Native Americans. Throughout the project, we plan to read There There by Tommy Orange and watch “Songs my Brothers Taught Me.” At the end of the project, we will write a final reflection. We are continuing or project into the second trimester.
Final Product (e.g., documents, images, video, audio, poster, display, etc.):
There There and Songs My Brother Taught Me Reflection
By Margaret MacGillivray and Emma Diamond
In There There, Tommy Orange uses multiple storylines to compare and contrast the stories of different Native peoples in the Oakland area. He explores what it means to be a contemporary Native person in an urban setting and the struggles that come with that. When describing “home,” Tommy Orange shows the ways that Native people lack and find belonging in different places when their home was stolen from them.
In using multiple perspectives, Tommy Orange is able to show different perspectives of Native peoples in Oakland, CA. He represents a wide variety of age ranges and experiences to best paint a full picture the Native experience. He makes this choice to show that there are many experiences in Native life that aren’t universal and it’s important to recognize the nuance there when thinking about these issues. At the same time, there’s a connection that comes with having the shared experience of being Native in the United States that Orange also shows in his work.
Orange also shows the ways that art can be a means for healing and showing the struggles faced by Native communities. Dene Oxendene, a character in There There, is a storyteller who makes it his mission to carry on his uncle Lucas’ legacy by creating a documentary about Native people living in Oakland. In the book, he receives an art grant to do this project so that he can pay participants who allow him to interview them. He takes his role as a storyteller very seriously and feels extreme gratitude for those willing to share their stories with.
In Songs My Brothers Taught Me, director Chloé Zhao explores what it means to be a Native person in a modern world while still dealing with the other struggles of modern life. She shows Johnny and Jashaun, brother and sister, living on a reservation in South Dakota. While they navigate the challenges of teenage life, they also must deal with the issues that disproportionately affect Native people such as substance abuse and separated families.
Both There There and Songs My Brothers Taught Me help to show a more full and nuanced picture of modern Native life.
Final Reflection on Learning:
Emma: Throughout this project I continued to learn how to effectively analyze literature. Since we also watched a film, I was able to learn how analyzing film is different/similar to analyzing literature. I think my knowledge about the experiences of Native Americans became more nuanced and I am now better able to understand the experiences of others. The work I did in this honors project will continue to help me with my work on the Junior Trip.
Margaret: When doing this project, I was able to gain a more nuanced understanding of Native American life in the context of modern day. After reading Tommy Pico in 10th grade, I wanted to explore the work of other indigenous authors. Reading There There and watching Songs My Brother Taught Me helped me to read and watch different experiences of indigenous people. I also learned more about analyzing literature and connecting it to events in history.
Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant):
During the first three weeks of the second trimester, we continued to read Tommy Orange’s There There. We met with Calvin to discuss what we have read every Wednesday. In the next few weeks we plan to watch Songs My Brothers Taught Me. This will enable us to compare the two works of art so we can get a more broad understanding of the lives of Native Americans.
Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant):
During the second three weeks of the second trimester, we kept reading There There by Tommy Orange. We continued to meet with Calvin weekly to discuss the book. We decided to finish the book before watching the film. By the end of week six, we finished the book. Margaret and I discussed our final thoughts on the book and what we thought Tommy Orange’s message was.
Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):
During the last three weeks of the second trimester, we began to think more deeply about our final project. We decided that we wanted to create a final reflection about our thoughts about the book and the film. During the 8th week, we watched Songs My Brothers Taught Me. After watching the film, Margaret and I discussed how it relates to There There and began working on our reflection. We finished our final reflection during week nine.
Project by: Emma Diamond (11th Grade), Margaret MacGillivray (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Calvin Walds
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Shauna Finn, Charlene Cruz-Cerdas
Final Product (e.g., documents, images, video, audio, poster, display, etc.):
So far, we have not done a final project as we are extending our project to the next trimester. However, below are some of the annotations we have made while reading There There by Tommy Orange.
Final Reflection on Learning:
Emma: Throughout this project, I continued to work on my critical thinking and literature analysis skills. I also worked on being able to effectively express my ideas about literature into words. This will continue to help me in future discussions about literature. I learned more about the experiences of Native Americans which complimented my work on my junior trip Native Justice work extremely well.
Margaret: After reading Nature Poem by Tommy Pico, I knew that I wanted to expand my knowledge about the Native experience in the United States. Reading There There by Tommy Orange, a story that draws on multiple perspectives of Native people, has helped me to think critically about my privilege and gain understanding about the experiences of others. As we continue to read the book and watch films, I hope to learn more.
Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant):
In the first three weeks of our project, we began to read the book There There by Tommy Orange. This book follows the experiences of many Native American characters through their point of view. This organization of the book definitely personalizes the issues that Native Americans face since the reader gets to know the struggles of specific characters. We met with Calvin weekly to discuss what we have read to far. Each week, we read a section and took note of things we wanted to bring to the discussion. We often found ourselves comparing this book to the Native American literature that we read last year in English class such as Tommy Pico’s Nature Poem.
Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant):
In the second three weeks of our project, we continued to read There There by Tommy Orange and meet with Calvin to discuss what we read. We are more than half way through the book as of right now. During our meetings with Calvin we also began to consider what we want our final project would be. We ultimately decided to create a written reflection/response about the book There There and the film that we will be watching in the next three weeks. We will include what we learned throughout the project and how the Native American literature and film that we looked at impacted us.
Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):
During the last few weeks, we decided to continue our project into Trimester 2. After making this decision we chose not to watch the film, but to continue reading There There by Tommy Orange. We made annotations in our books and met to discuss our thoughts about the book and what the author was trying to communicate. During these weeks, we also made a plan for trimester 2. We are going to finish There There and watch Songs my Brothers Taught Me. After we finish these, we will compile our thoughts into a final reflection. If we have time, we will read poems by Native American authors and include those in our discussions and writing.
