answer the following questions:
1. Why does Tommy Orange sometimes find it challenging when he is asked about his ethnicity? Though he identifies as Native, why does he sometimes feel pressure to identify as half Native or to share a specific percentage regarding his Native heritage? Why is that his son, though also Native, “won’t have a CDIB” (Para. 11)? What does CDIB refer to, and what is its impact on Native identity, as described by Orange?
2. Tommy Orange states, “Actively identifying as a Native person if you have a valid claim is important work — an act against systematically designed erasure” (Para. 4). What does Orange mean by this? Why is it important to him to identify as Native? Explain.
3. Tommy Orange writes, “It has to be funny that after spilling all that blood, our blood, our government, which first imposed this blood law — that we keep such close track of it — make sure we don’t lose its quantity, or quality, or, what are we talking about again? If my skin is white, that’s because that’s what my mom is. And if it isn’t brown, it isn’t because of what my dad isn’t. I’m not half of two things or made up of fractions. I am made up of whole things, things that are things unto themselves” (Para. 13). What larger point is Tommy Orange making here? What insight does this section give us about how Tommy Orange views his own identity? Explain.
4. For Tommy Orange, what do you think the purpose of telling this story is? Consider that BuzzFeed, the website the essay was published on, has an extensive readership. Why do you think Orange chose to tell such a personal story? Who do you think he is trying to reach with this piece? Why is the story significant, or worth telling? Explain.
.