An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
 | |
| Author | Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Gabi Anderson |
| Language | English |
| Genre | History |
| Publisher | Beacon Press, Boston, MA |
Publication date | 2014 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 296 |
| OCLC | 868199534 |
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States is a non-fiction book written by the historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and published by Beacon Press. It is the third of a series of six ReVisioning books which reconstruct and reinterpret U.S. history from marginalized peoples' perspectives.[1] On July 23, 2019, the same press published An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People,[2] an adaptation by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese of Dunbar-Ortiz's original volume.
Synopsis
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States describes and analyzes a four-hundred-year span of complex Indigenous struggles against the colonization of the Americas. The book highlights resultant conflicts, wars, and Indigenous strategies and sites of resistance.
The book's contents across many chronological chapters challenge what Dunbar-Ortiz articulates as the founding mythology of the burgeoning country, bolstered in the 19th century by the concept of Manifest Destiny and the Doctrine of Discovery. In the book, Dunbar-Ortiz seeks to show "how policy against the Indigenous peoples was colonialist and designed to seize the territories of the original inhabitants, displacing or eliminating them". It details how the myth rose out of the imperatives of settler colonialism and graphically depicts this as the seizure of the original inhabitants' territories and subsequent displacement and elimination of them through genocidal practices. One manifestation of the myth and expression of the genocide is identified as the movement to Kill the Indian, Save the Man.[3] Also described is the predominance of anti-Indigenous practices and values celebrated in popular culture in the 19th and 20th centuries through writers like James Fenimore Cooper, especially in his novel and the subsequent cinematic renditions of Last of the Mohicans; Henry David Thoreau; Walt Whitman; and in D.W. Griffith's enormously popular Birth of a Nation. Beyond popular culture, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States details how such policies, practices, and values were manifest through the ranks of the U.S. military to the highest offices of government.
Reception
Reviews
Among the various reviews, early 21st century issues and tensions in the U.S. have been highlighted. Indigenous press and other press regularly inclusive of Indigenous news, too, have put forth reviews, such as the Tribal College Journal,[4] and The Santa Fe New Mexican.[5]
A reviewer in CounterPunch wrote that this book "will be of great value to those first learning about the Indigenous perspective as well as someone like me who has been reading and writing about native peoples for the past twenty-five years."[6]
From a review by Publishers Weekly: What is fresh about the book is its comprehensiveness. Dunbar-Ortiz brings together every indictment of white Americans that has been cast upon them over time, and she does so by raising intelligent new questions about many of the current trends of academia, such as multiculturalism. Dunbar-Ortiz’s material succeeds, but will be eye-opening to those who have not previously encountered such a perspective.[7]
From a review in the San Francisco Chronicle: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States isn’t based on original research. But it synthesizes a vast body of scholarship, much of it by Indians themselves, and provides an antidote to the work of historians who have rationalized the settling of the West and the “civilizing” of the Indians. Ortiz praises Indian acts of resistance, honors Indian warriors such as Tananka Yotanka (Sitting Bull), and calls for mending and healing the whole nation. Her book belongs on the shelf next to Dee Brown’s classic, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.[8]
From a review in Summit Daily: “Imperialism,” “settler colonialism,” “genocide” and “land theft” are all words that matter when writing and studying this history. Throughout her book, she repeatedly emphasizes the importance of being truthful and accurate when confronted with the often-ugly realities of this nation’s past.[9]
Awards
Recognition of the book's value has also come in the form of praise and awards such as that from Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams,[10] suggesting this is the most important book on the subject of U.S. history.[11] In 2015, it received the American Book Award[12] and the PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature.[13]
Reading lists and excerpts
The Human Rights Campaign recommended reading and discussing the book as one means of dealing responsibly with Thanksgiving.[14] The book was also included in recommended reading lists by Business Insider,[15] Patch,[16] BookRiot,[17] and Oxfam America.[18]
Salon posted an excerpt about it on Columbus Day.[19]
References
- ^ "ReVisioning American History". ReVisioning American History.
- ^ Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne (23 July 2019). An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People. Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza (adapters). Boston, MA: Beacon Press. ISBN 978-080704939-6.
- ^ Pratt, Capt. Richard H. ""Kill the Indian, and Save the Man": Capt. Richard H. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans". Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center.
- ^ Denetdale, Jennifer (8 November 2015). "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States". Tribal College Journal.
- ^ Sanchez, Casey (18 August 2017). ""An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz". Santa Fe New Mexican.
- ^ Proyect, Louis (6 October 2017). "History in Red: America According to Its Natives". CounterPunch. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Raskin, Jonah (19 Nov 2014). "'An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States': review". SF Gate. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Wetherbee, Karina (8 April 2017). "Book review: 'An Indigenous People's History of the U.S.'". Summit Daily.
- ^ Kelley, Robin D. G. (2002). Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination. Boston: Beacon Press.
- ^ Oxman, Richard (23 March 2017). "The Most Important U.S. History Book You Will Read in Your Lifetime". CounterCurrents.
- ^ "2015 American Book Awards". 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 Feb 2020. Retrieved 16 Feb 2021.
- ^ "The 25th Annual PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Literary Awards". KPFA. November 2015.
- ^ HRC staff (26 November 2019). "This Thanksgiving, Support and Center Native American People". Human Rights Campaign.
- ^ Katherine Fiorillo (18 November 2021). "The 23 best history books written by women, from previously untold war stories to page-turning biographies". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Megan VerHelst (19 June 2021). "Missing Pages Of History: 31 Books To Read For Juneteenth". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Kim Ukura (7 August 2020). "14 Books for a More Inclusive Look at American History". bookriot.com. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Oxfam Staff (11 June 2020). "Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement begins with a critical education". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne (13 October 2019). "North America is a crime scene: The untold history of America this Columbus Day". Salon.