Tommy Orange, author of “There There.” Tommy is a recent graduate from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. He is a 2014 MacDowell Fellow and a 2016 Writing by Writers Fellow. He is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. Tommy was born and raised in Oakland, California, and resides in Angels Camp, California. Tiokasin and Tommy will discuss Tommy’s debut novel, “There There" (Knopf). On Friday, June 8, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Tommy will be reading from and discussing his book at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum in Mashantucket, CT, the first event of the Museum’s “Indigenous Voices Series.” The program is sponsored by the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT. Event tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/indigenous-voices-series-tommy… and at the door that evening.

In the second half-hour, Keala Kelly (Native Hawaiian), who resides on Hawai’i Island (also known as the Big Island), will explain the Hawaiian perspective of Kilauea Volcano, the home of the volcano goddess Pele. Misrepresentation of what is occurring now on Hawai’i Island is widespread in the mainstream media; and Keala will provide cultural perspective and a deeper understanding of the current situation. Keala is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. Her documentary film, “Noho Hewa: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawaii,” has been screened and broadcasted internationally and is widely taught in university courses that focus on colonization, Indigenous cultures and the Pacific.

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