There There

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Define “Indigenous” in your own words. What makes something “indigenous” to a place or area? What does it mean in the context of “Indigenous Americans” and Indigenous American history?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will likely be familiar with a variety of terms for Indigenous Americans that have been used over time, some pejorative or otherwise. Introducing the term “Indigenous American,” as well as the reasons that some individuals may prefer “Native” or even “Indian” over “Indigenous” will be important as students encounter these terms in There There.

• The National Museum of the American Indian offers some guidance in this resource on terminology.
• This article from The Oklahoman includes various perspectives on different terms and their historical context.

2. There There focuses on the lives of Indigenous Americans in a city, instead of on reservations. What do you know about the movement of Indigenous individuals to cities? What might that adjustment have been like? Why do you think the book focuses on this?

Teaching Suggestion: The relocation of many Indigenous Americans to cities was part of a larger effort to force Indigenous people to assimilate into European American culture, leaving behind Indigenous traditions.