An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a groundbreaking historical account that reinterprets the narrative of the United States from the perspective of Indigenous peoples. This meticulously researched work shifts focus from the traditional Euro-American-centric chronicles to the experiences and resilience of Native American communities. Dunbar-Ortiz delves into the centuries-long history of resistance against European colonisation and American expansionism, revealing the persistent efforts of Indigenous populations to preserve their lands, cultures, and sovereignty.

This New York Times Bestseller has also been adapted into the HBO docuseries "Exterminate All the Brutes," written and directed by Raoul Peck, further extending its impact by bringing these crucial stories to a broader audience. The book has received widespread acclaim, earning accolades such as the American Book Award and the 2015 PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature.

Currently, in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognised Indigenous nations, comprising nearly three million people. These individuals are the descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once thrived on these lands before the onset of European colonisation. Throughout history, the genocidal policies and actions of the US settler-colonial regime have largely been omitted from mainstream historical narratives.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz brilliantly brings these suppressed narratives to light in An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. The book provides an unflinching look at how Native Americans actively resisted the US empire's expansion for centuries. By exploring crucial movements such as the campaign to eradicate Columbus Day in favour of Indigenous Peoples' Day and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, Dunbar-Ortiz presents a compelling case for why understanding these historical threads is essential to comprehending contemporary issues.

Dunbar-Ortiz masterfully deconstructs the founding myths of the United States, illustrating how these myths were used to justify colonialist policies designed to seize Indigenous territories and displace or annihilate their original inhabitants. She reveals how popular culture, through the works of writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Walt Whitman, alongside high-ranking government and military officials, praised and perpetuated these policies.

One of the most harrowing insights in the book comes from US Army General Thomas S. Jesup, who, in 1836, regarding the Seminoles, declared, "The country can be rid of them only by exterminating them." Such accounts serve to highlight the brutal realities of the genocidal policies that reached their peak under President Andrew Jackson.

Spanning more than four hundred years, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States offers a radical re-evaluation of US history, exploding the silences that have long haunted the national narrative. This seminal work is an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand the full scope of America's past and its implications on the present.