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He hadn’t read Gertrude Stein beyond the quote. But for Native people in this country, all over the Americas, it’s been developed over, buried ancestral land, glass and concrete and wire and steel, unreturnable covered memory. There is no there there.
Dene relates to a quote from famous writer Gertrude Stein, who explains that gentrification has stripped Oakland of its soul. She uses the phrase “there is no there there,” which inspires the novel’s many-layered title. Dene feels that this quote describes not only the gentrification of Oakland but the colonization and gentrification of all the lands that once belonged to Native Americans. White colonialism and capitalism have stolen Native lands and erased Native culture. Although the land itself is still there, the essence of these places and their ties to Native life have been destroyed.
There are so many stories here. I know this means a lot of editing, a lot of watching, and a lot of listening, but that’s just what our community needs considering how long it’s been ignored, has remained invisible.
Dene understands that the interview project he pitches to the grant committee will require a lot of listening, both in the initial interviews and in the editing process that follows. However, Dene is committed to being a listener, as he believes it’s necessary that Native people be given a voice. Dene feels that the work of listening, watching, and editing is a form of appreciation and respect—two things the Native community desperately needs.
He thought about what it might have meant to her, losing her brother. How wrong it’d been that he’d left, like it was his loss alone. Norma crouched down and put her face in her hands. The camera was still running. He lifted it, pistol-gripped, pointed it at her, and looked away.
It is after the death of his uncle Lucas that Dene first discovers the power of observation and recording. By recording his mother’s pain with his camera, he validates her experience. Additionally, he also ensures that his mother’s grief is documented and becomes a permanent fixture in the ongoing narrative of Native life, a facet of history that has often been manipulated or unrecorded by outside sources. Dene has an innate understanding of the ethics of documentation and the importance of respecting the subject’s privacy. While he looks away, refusing to intrude on his mother’s grief, he allows the camera’s lens to capture the moment.
