Community Read Challenge 3

1. Read pp.98-196, and engage with other readers by sharing your comments and reflections. Some questions to think about as you read
   • How do the characters in these chapters reflect on historical and intergenerational trauma?
   • What is the importance of storytelling, and what connections can we make from the stories told in these chapters?
   • Reflect on the significance of names and naming, including the challenge in the “Interlude” to be reflective about your own family history: 
     • ​​​​​​“If you were fortunate enough to be born into a family whose ancestors directly benefited from genocide and/or slavery, maybe you think the more you don’t know, the more innocent you can stay, which is a good incentive to not find out, to not look too deep, to walk carefully around the sleeping tiger. Look no further than your last name. Follow it back and you might find your line paved with gold, or beset with traps.” (p. 138–39)
2. Talk by artist Jacob Meders, February 24, at 5 p.m., “Too Many Capitalists Not Enough Indians: Indigenous Adjustments in the Western Narrative.”
   • Meders (Mechoopda/Maidu) is an assistant professor at the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Science at Arizona State University. His work “focuses on altered perceptions of place, culture, and identity built on the assimilation and homogenization of indigenous people.”
3. Attend a panel discussion of There There by Native American students at Chico State, February 25, 2:30 p.m. (Zoom Meeting ID 872 6110 4904, Passcode 270908).

This week’s Community Read Challenge features reflections from a Mechoopda Elder

In a 2019 interview, Tommy Orange explained that, in writing There There, “I wanted to really expand the range of what we think about the Native experience in contemporary times.” Orange focused on the urban Native experience in Oakland, but I'm wondering if you think the same might apply in far Northern California? If so, what might an expanded “range” of Native experiences in contemporary far Northern California look like?

Mechoopda Elder: Even in Oakland during the time period of There There, the experience still included California Indians, specifically during the Alcatraz movement. Young Indian men and women participated in the occupation of Alcatraz. Friendship House in Oakland created a sense of belonging, of sharing and laughter even though people were from different areas and Tribes. Far Northern Native experiences include Big Time, our ceremonies, community gatherings. Mechoopda is still here and thriving. Mechoopda works to provide opportunities for our community, for Elders, youth, and the general welfare. The Tribe works to make sure that language revitalization is accessible, and we work to protect, care, and tend the land.

Tommy Orange discusses the harm done by inaccurate histories and suggests that many people continue to think they “have the option to not think about or even consider history, whether you learned it right or not, or whether it even deserves consideration” and “think the more you don't know, the more innocent you can stay.”  What can we do in Butte County and at Chico State to make sure we are not perpetuating harmful and incomplete stories about the past?

Mechoopda Elder: We need to make sure the people teaching our histories understand our true history and that this history must be told accurately and truthfully. We need to change how we tell the story of Chico. Bidwell was not the founder of Chico, and the Bidwell story needs to be told truthfully.