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Blue is Jacquie Red Feather and Harvey’s daughter, who was given up for adoption as a baby. Blue was adopted by wealthy, white parents. Her childhood experience differs greatly from the novel’s other characters in that it is not fraught with alcohol, abuse, or poverty. Instead, Blue lives in a well-off neighborhood, in a house with a pool in the backyard. However, like many of her fellow characters, Blue experiences distress and confusion over her Native identity. She is a fully Native woman, but being raised by white parents has limited her access to cultural experiences and connections. Blue moves to a Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma in adulthood, hoping to find the connections she was missing in childhood. Initially, she does: Blue quickly forms a romantic relationship with a Native man named Paul, moves in with him, and becomes close to his family. In hindsight, Blue recognizes that the relationship was rushed and unhealthy from the start, but at the time, she felt deeply connected to Paul due to participating in peyote ceremonies with him. After Paul’s father dies, Paul becomes physically abusive, and Blue becomes his victim—an experience shared by many of the Native women in There There. Blue’s victimization is a dark twist on her initiation into Cheyenne culture. While she has finally succeeded in reconnecting to her cultural heritage by moving to a reservation and marrying a Native man, she has also been introduced to the cyclical, systemic traumas rampant in the Native American community. In choosing to fully embrace her Native identity, she must also contend with the traumatic parts of that identity.
While Blue’s abusive marriage and disconnected upbringing certainly affect her perception of her Native identity, she has a toughness and confidence that some of the novel’s other characters lack. Her decision to leave Paul is an active one. Although it is difficult and terrifying, Blue rescues herself from an abusive relationship and starts over successfully in Oakland. Additionally, while both Blue and Edwin share complicated relationships with white parents and were estranged from their tribes growing up, Blue has reached a level of acceptance about her circumstances that Edwin has not. Blue’s evaluation of her identity and her relationships is honest and blunt—she has no patience for Edwin’s weak defense of white people and reminds him that having a positive relationship with your white parents does not mean that you must have an uncritical relationship with white people or white culture in general.
