Library program urges residents to read, discuss book

The featured book for this year’s Riverside Reads program will be “There There,” which tells of 12 intertwined characters in a Native American community who are on the way to a powwow.

It’s the first book by Native American author Tommy Orange, an Oakland native and member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma, a city of Riverside news release states.

As the characters travel to the Big Oakland Powwow, the book examines “the plight of the urban Native American grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, community and sacrifice, and heroism,” the release states.

The book is available for free at all Riverside Public Library sites while supplies last.

The kickoff event for Riverside Reads 2024 is set for Tuesday at the downtown Main Library, 3900 Mission Inn Ave., at 6 p.m. Clifford Trafzer, a UC Riverside professor, will be the keynote speaker. A panel discussion will include Brenda Focht, senior curator for the Museum of Riverside; Lorene Sisquoc, a member of the

Fort Sill Apache Tribe and Sherman Indian Museum curator and cultural traditions leader; Wallace Cleaves, a member of the Gabrielino Tongva Tribe and director for the California Center for Native Nations; and Robert Levi Jr., Cal State San Bernardino elder/culture bearer in residence and a citizen of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. A Sherman Indian School documentary, “These Are Not ‘Stories,’ ” will be screened.

Other related events include:

April 6: A teen open mic night at the Arlington Library, 9556 Magnolia Ave., at 4 p.m.

April 11: A 6 p.m. Inlandia Institute literary event featuring guest author Cassandra Lopez at the downtown library.

Discussions about the book also are set for three libraries:

April 7: 4 p.m., Arlington Library, 9556 Magnolia Ave.

April 14: 4 p.m., Ssgt. Salvador J. Lara Casa Blanca Library, 2985 Madison St.

April 21: 3:30 p.m., Main Library, 3900 Mission Inn Ave.

A donation from the Riverside Public Library Foundation donation is funding the program.