Who Would Like This Book:
This book flips the usual story of American history on its head, telling it from the perspective of Indigenous peoples rather than European settlers. It's eye-opening and thought-provoking, challenging many myths you probably learned in school. If you're interested in social justice, Native American history, or just want to see U.S. history in a whole new light, this is a must-read. Teachers, students, activists, and anyone curious about the deeper roots of American society will find a lot worth discussing here.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the writing style to be a bit dry, textbook-like, or repetitive, and wished for more stories of Indigenous resilience rather than just focusing on trauma. There’s criticism that the book leans heavily on the negative actions of settlers and doesn't dive deeply enough into the diverse cultures and internal histories of Indigenous nations. Those hoping for a balanced or neutral point of view - or those who prefer narrative storytelling over polemic - may struggle with its tone and framing. If you’re looking for an in-depth exploration of Indigenous cultures themselves, rather than the impact of colonization, this might not fully satisfy.
About:
'An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States' by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a perspective on American history told from the viewpoint of Indigenous peoples. The author delves into the genocidal program of the US settler colonial regime that has been largely omitted from traditional history books. Through the narrative, Dunbar-Ortiz reveals how Native Americans actively resisted the expansion of the US empire over centuries. discusses the atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples, the historical context of colonization, and the impact of settler colonialism on the Indigenous population.
The writing style of the book is described as informative, brutally honest, and necessary for understanding the reality of white Americans' actions towards Native Americans over the last four hundred years. While not a comprehensive history, the book presents a detailed account of Anglo-Indigenous relations throughout American history, shedding light on the sobering truth of the country's treatment of Indigenous peoples. Dunbar-Ortiz's work challenges traditional narratives of American history and encourages readers to view the nation's past from a different perspective, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging and learning from the Indigenous perspective.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include discussions of genocide, colonial violence, racism, and historical trauma.
From The Publisher:
Now part of the HBO docuseries "Exterminate All the Brutes," written and directed by Raoul Peck
2015 Recipient of the American Book Award
The first history of the United States told from the perspective of indigenous peoples
Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. Now, for the first time, acclaimed historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire.
With growing support for movements such as the campaign to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples' Day and the Dakota Access Pipeline protest led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States is an essential resource providing historical threads that are crucial for understanding the present. In An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, Dunbar-Ortiz adroitly challenges the founding myth of the United States and shows how policy against the Indigenous peoples was colonialist and designed to seize the territories of the original inhabitants, displacing or eliminating them. And as Dunbar-Ortiz reveals, this policy was praised in popular culture, through writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Walt Whitman, and in the highest offices of government and the military. Shockingly, as the genocidal policy reached its zenith under President Andrew Jackson, its ruthlessness was best articulated by US Army general Thomas S. Jesup, who, in 1836, wrote of the Seminoles: "The country can be rid of them only by exterminating them."
Spanning more than four hundred years, this classic bottom-up peoples' history radically reframes US history and explodes the silences that have haunted our national narrative.
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States is a 2015 PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature.
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2 comment(s)
A must read for an oft overlooked layer of American expansion.
The author holds no punches. If you're looking to learn a different, more detailed history of the United States this deserves a read/listen.
What can you read after
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States?
About the Author:
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma, the daughter of a tenant farmer and part-Indian mother. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than four decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international…
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