Acclaimed Native American author Tommy Orange to speak at Barstow Community College

Barstow Community College will host an evening of conversation with acclaimed Native American author and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Tommy Orange.

Orange will speak and sign books during the “Barstow Reads” community-wide reading event from 4 to 7 p.m. on May 3 at the college’s main stage theater at 2700 Barstow Rd.

Attendees will hear Orange delve into the intricate tapestry of his 2018 Pulitzer Prize-nominated fictional novel, “There There,” as he takes visitors on a profound journey through the urban Native American experience, event organizers said.

National Public Radio described “There There” as a novel that follows 12 characters from Native communities as they travel to the Big Oakland Powwow, “all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize.”

Born in Oakland, Orange, 42, is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, according to Penguin Random House.

“There There” was also the winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, the John Leonard Prize, and the American Book Award, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

‘Wandering Stars’

Orange followed up his best-selling debut with the book “Wandering Stars.” It is both a prequel and a sequel to “There There.”

“Wandering Stars” begins in 1864 and traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations, according to Amazon.

As the three generations of children grow into adults, the reader will realize the characters are the ancestors of the family from the book “There There.”

“Wandering Stars” is an indictment of the United States’ war on its own people, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

When asked about what he desires that readers glean from “Wandering Stars,” Orange told Wisconsin Public Radio that people don’t understand the campaign against the “erasure of Native people” and how long it’s been going on.

“Giving context and giving this history to allow more understanding for who we are, I think that is something that I would like readers to experience,” Orange said.

Barstow Reads

Barstow Reads is modeled on the One Book One City/Community or One Book One School/Campus model.

By reading the same text, community members come together to share, discuss, and engage with one another in a common literary experience.

The One Book/One Community model offers the Barstow area an opportunity to promote literacy by reading and celebrating the written word. It also demonstrates the value of human stories and allows community members to perhaps find common ground.

For more information on Barstow Reads, visit barstow.edu/academics/barstow-reads.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Native American author Tommy Orange to speak at Barstow College