An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

Mostly a painful slog; In part because of the subject matter, but mostly because of the flaws of the author's writing and unbalanced perspective. I'm definitely on Dunbar-Ortiz's "side" here in terms of critique of the formation of the American government and the steady stream of abominable choices made by white colonizers, however the author isn't just presenting the other side of the story here... She's often fully unhinged, at one point referring to white colonists as "parasites" in a chapter sub-heading. (Page 60 of the edition I read.) This is language unbecoming of an academic.

The value in this work is that you will get a (relatively) brief overview of most of the offenses of the colonists and the American government against the indigenous people of North America, and a sprinkling of information about prominent Native American leaders and historic figures that can serve to spark one's interests and inspire further reading and research.

I can't really recommend it, however.

A must read for an oft overlooked layer of American expansion. 

Great; necessary. Half of my book club read this while the other half reading Indigenous Continent, and I think based on David Treuer's review in The New Yorker, I'm happy about my pick. Dunbar-Ortiz has a sweeping comprehensive view of the historical details plus a searing vision of the completely cohesive through line between our founding (and ongoing) genocide against Indigenous peoples and current imperialist foreign policy (and the delusional moral bankruptcy and hypocrisy at the center of it). I also especially appreciated the last chapter on what the future may hold. I occasionally had trouble tracking the geography of what she recounts because she tended to organize by theme/time period, but I think this also reflects that the Indigenous experience included both forced relocation and resistance through geographical flexibility.

This book tells the history of the United States with regard to the indigenous inhabitants of the land. It tells the stories that were left out of the history most people educated in the US learned in school, including stories about people we were raised to think of as admirable, like Daniel Boone. After it fills in the gaps you didn't know were in your education about the forming of the United States, it shows how our stance in the world today as a dominant power, bringer of democracy, a militaristic empire, has developed directly out of the way we treated the indigenous people of this land. This is an eye opening book, suitable for academic environments and for general readers. It has an extensive bibliography and notes, as well as an index, but is written in approachable language. Everyone should read it.

Fantastic book, highly recommend! More than most histories, this book is explicit about its historiographical lens. Dunbar-Ortiz forces readers to see US history from the perspective of those whose expulsion, destruction, and assimilation was the goal of the American settler colonial project from the beginning. Although roughly chronologically ordered, the primary organization of the narrative is thematic, allowing Dunbar-Ortiz to weave the present into her recounting of the past. For that reason, I especially recommend the book for those who have a relatively strong background in US history. Profitable for all readers, however. You'll leave the book (I hope) convinced of the moral necessity of land restoration and the recognition of indigenous sovereignty.

This book is a history of the United States that follows the indigenous peoples' that have been here for millennia. It discusses the political and socioeconomic ties indigenous peoples' have had with the United States government and how much of that history is unknown to the general populace. I learned so much in this book that I have never been taught or heard about. I had a baseline knowledge about the genocide and erasure that the US government enacted on the indigenous peoples', but learning the details was truly harrowing. Dunbar-Ortiz walks the reader through many major people in American history who were very anti-Native American and who worked very hard to eradicate their very existence. Some of the people I already knew about, like Andrew Jackson, but many of them I wasn't aware of and it was extremely disheartening, although sadly, not surprising. She then walks us through the additional struggles Native American's still face today, which I knew absolutely nothing about. I'm very glad I now know these things so I can do what I can moving forward to speak out about these injustices and help where I'm able.

This book is an important read for anyone living in the US because it is very important for us to come to terms with our violent, racist background and start to work towards reparations for these groups of people that we have systematically abused for our entire history.

The information that is included in this book is stuff that I have never heard before and is very interesting, and am thankful to be able to hear another side of U.S. history. It does read like a history textbook, though, which I guess I should have expected.

Non-fic buddy read with Jeananne.

None of us have even a remote understanding of the history of indigenous peoples because even the most undeniable horrors have been thoroughly whitewashed for the sake of maintaining the lie of American Exceptionalism. This book provides some understanding to the horrors that fell the people that lived on the land we're living on now, including the multiple genocides committed against them, starting with those committed by Columbus himself. They weren't the savages. We were.

Highly Recommended

If you're like me and wanted a comprehensive refresher on US history, centering a non-white perspective, this is it. I learned a lot from it.

First off, let me say that this book is great and it is desperately needed. While I have long turned my ears to the cries of injustice, the echoes of the indigenous peoples of the Americas have rarely made the impact they do here. Why? Because we are taught so little. Because in the spectrum of U.S. history, it is relatively ancient. Because there are so few today who raise their voices and demand to tell the story. Sure, we know the stories we were told in elementary school were erroneous. We know Columbus was not worth our celebration. We know Thanksgiving is a lie. We may even know the big events: The Trail of Tears, Little Bighorn, etc. I may be speaking out of place, but I would venture to guess most of us, even those who know the history of injustice in the United States, do not know all this. Certainly, I did not.

And so this book is needed. The genocide, the broken treaties, the lies, the programs that blatantly dressed in the garments of unabashed racism (all of which continued much much longer than I had imagined)–all that is spelled out so clearly here. And I must sincerely thank the author for having the courage and insight to put it all on paper.

That said, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States reads a little too heavily like a textbook. And like other textbooks, it is a textbook with an agenda. In some ways, that's good, because we need a textbook that tells the other side of the story; but in the same way school textbooks imply that Indians are uncivilized brutes, An Indigenous Peoples' History... implies that the white man is savage and greedy. This angle doesn't bode well for a work that should educate, not finger point. In fact, this book does little to paint the indigenous people of North America as much more than victims; I would've appreciated learning more about their history sans the white man. If An Indigenous Peoples' History... is indeed meant to counter the school textbook, it is my feeling that it should stand as an anti-textbook and bear as little similarity to the textbook lies as possible.

Additionally, the book is repetitive at times, foreshadowing an event and then, when chronologically appropriate, retelling those details in almost the same words. Surely, this book would not have suffered from tighter editing.

Minor quibbles aside, this book is important. It may not be the most riveting story of indigenous persecution (though it has turned me onto finding some of those works), but it is likely the most complete, relatively concise work on the subject. Those interested in or who feel obligated to learn of the injustices perpetrated by the United States throughout history should consider this one an essential read.