Tracing the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 to the aftermath of Orvil Red Feather's shooting, Opal tries to hold her family together while Orvil becomes emotionally reliant on prescription medications, and his younger brother, suffering from PTSD, secretly enacts blood rituals to connect to his Cheyenne heritage.
“Orange’s ability to highlight the contradictory forces that coexist within friendships, familial relationships and the characters themselves, who contend with holding private and public identities, makes Wandering Stars a towering achievement.” —The New York Times
“A centuries-spanning epic of a Native family that manages to feel profoundly intimate.” —Vulture
“An eloquent indictment of the devastating long-term effects of the massacre, dislocation and forced assimilation of Native Americans, [Wandering Stars] is also a heartfelt paean to the importance of family and of ancestors’ stories in recovering a sense of belonging and identity . . . Wandering Stars more than fulfills the promise of There There.” —NPR