Riyana S. Contradiction and Connection

Orvil Redfeather as the Urban Indian in There There

At its core, Tommy Orange’s novel There There is a poignant examination of the “Urban Indian” characters who explore and grapple with their identity. Orange highlights urbanization as what was supposed to be “the completion of a five-hundred year-old genocidal campaign,” and thus describes Urban Indians as stuck between two worlds, grappling with their Indigenous identity while facing forced assimilation and isolation within colonial American society (Orange 12). Orange posits that the “Urban Indian” navigates the realities of the modern world but perpetually carries the burden of his ancestors through “wounds [that] get passed down,” often being forced to shoulder this burden alone (143). The Urban Indian struggle is thus pierced with generational trauma and isolation from Native culture—and Orvil Redfeather serves as a materialization of this phenomenon. Orvil’s struggle with his identity is characterized by the contradiction between his desire to be a “real Indian” and his profound isolation when he attempts to connect to his heritage.

Orvil’s warped view of his own identity is deeply influenced by his grandmother, Opal Bear Shield, and her aversion to passing down Indian tradition and culture. This disconnect from heritage is demonstrated when Orvil tries on his grandmother’s regalia. As he looks in the mirror, Orvil finds that “he doesn’t look the way he hoped he would…. with his too-small-for-him stolen regalia, dressed up like an Indian” (97). Orvil craves the feeling of being a true Indian, but neither the regalia nor the title of “Indian” fits him. His disappointment in his appearance signifies a lack of Indigenous role models for him to identify with. Orvil has an image in his mind of who he hopes to be, but Opal’s refusal to engage in cultural conversation forces him to navigate his indigenous identity in isolation. Beyond this, the notion of being “dressed up” deepens this sense of profound insecurity, evoking the image of an imposter—dressed in clothing stolen from his grandmother, claiming culture he feels he’s stolen from his ancestors. Orvil is thus a perpetual Urban outsider: craving connection to his culture while viewing himself as wholly insufficient, unfit for his stolen regalia and Indian identity.

Orvil’s isolation is furthered by the disconnect between his and Opal’s opinion of the standards of Indian identity. When Orvil asks her to teach him to be Indian, Opal replies, “anything you hear from me about your heritage does not make you more or less Indian” (96). Opal thus sees “Indian” as a permanent label placed upon her grandson, something immutable and inherent to his identity. There is no spectrum of Indianness in Opal’s mind, and exploring Indian identity is a privilege and not a prerequisite to being indigenous. In contrast, Orvil states that “the only way to be Indian in this world is to look and act like an Indian. To be or not to be Indian depends on it” (98). Orvil sees his identity as something to be earned, performed, and revoked—it is possible to be and not be an Indian. Furthermore, his effort to “look and act like an Indian” is deeply influenced by his need to be perceived as indigenous, and hold on to his claim to indigenous heritage. Thus, Orvil’s fragile sense of indigenous identity is contingent on the opinions of others, not on his own sense of self. As a result of his need for external cultural validation—and Opal’s refusal to provide it—Orvil turns to technology, a powerful driver of communication within the Urban Indian diaspora. Orange pinpoints virtual communication as synonymous with urbanization, stating that “plenty of us are urban now...if not because we live in cities, then because we live on the internet” (13). In Orvil’s narrative, however, technology has an inverse effect—rather than making Orvil urban, the internet makes Orvil Indian. This is specifically made clear when Orville, after watching hours of powwow footage on YouTube, asks Google “‘What does it mean to be a real Indian,’ which [leads] him...to an Urbandictionary.com word [he’s] never heard before: Pretendian” (97). Orvil’s loss of identity is explicitly clear—he is forced to define his own identity through the experiences of strangers on the internet. The utilization of Urbandictionary is also significant, not only because of its allusion to the Urban Indian but also because of its nature as a crowdsourced dictionary website. Every single word on Urbandictionary is written by an individual with a point of view—and yet Orvil’s greatest insecurity is his lack of experience, and the fact that he does not have a first-hand point of view with regards to the ancestral indigenous experience. Furthermore, the word Pretendian, a portmanteau of “pretend” and “Indian,” is indicative of Orvil’s own identity struggle. Orvil constantly feels like an imposter, performing the role of an Indian until outsiders perceive him to be truly indigenous. He also feels alienated from indigenous culture, as indicated by his reliance on the Internet. Beyond this, however, the word “alien” may also apply to Orvil’s experience of isolation in white culture. In spite of feeling disconnected from his Native identity, Orvil is seen as an Other by white society. Thus, Orvil carries the burden of the Urban Indian despite his fears of being insufficiently indigenous—and through the marriage of technology, isolation, indigenous culture, and the imposter syndrome that plagues Orvil, Orange highlights the contradictions embedded within the Native Indian experience.

Through his narration of Orvil Redfeather’s story, Orange explores the struggles riddling the Native experience, emphasizing Orvil’s desire for guidance as he navigates his Urban Indian identity. Furthermore, Orange highlights the heartbreaking dichotomy of being too Indian and not Indian enough—and the ensuing isolation from both white and indigenous society. Thus, Orvil’s story serves as an overarching commentary on the Urban Indian experience as a whole: the push and pull of shouldering the ancestral burden, while resisting assimilation into colonial America.

Orange, Tommy. There There. Vintage Books, 2018.

Riyana S. is a current twelfth-grader who plans to study public policy and international relations, starting at Brown University in the fall. She loves musical theater and soul music, and recently completed the American Conservatory of Theater’s Young Cabaret Program.

Nikki A.