An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
New York Times Bestseller. Now part of the HBO docuseries "Exterminate All the Brutes," written and directed by Raoul PeckRecipient 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.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Paperback
- Dimensions- 8.9" W x 6" H x 1" D
- Genre- History
- Publisher- Beacon Press, Publication date- 08-11-2015
- Page count- 320
- ISBN- 9780807057834
Web ID: 16778197
- This item qualifies for Free Shipping with minimum purchase! exclusions & details
- Our Normal Gift Boxing is not available for this item.
- Enjoy a longer window to return most of your holiday purchases. See our Extended Holiday Return Policy to see if this item qualifies.
- California and Minnesota customers call 1-800-289-6229 for Free Shipping information.
Told from a perspective needing to be understood
American history, as traditionally taught, teaches of the US’s “manifest destiny” and of many ensuing conflicts with natives on the Western frontier. A few ugly scenarios are often mentioned, but systematic genocide, on the order of Hitler or Stalin, is not described. However, from the perspective of these indigenous peoples, that’s exactly what happened as the United States attempted to destroy their entire culture. It’s this story from this perspective that Dunbar-Ortiz attempts to tell in this history of the American behemoth. This book is unabashedly told from a perspective, and the reader has to get used to it. It’s not told from the perspective of an “objective historian,” but instead makes moral judgments on history. It borders at times on telling a story about the “good” indigenous peoples against “bad” white settlers. It uses present-day terms to judge this history, terms that were inscribed in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, in 1948. While I agree that genocide tragically occurred, I find it a bit unfair to judge prior centuries’ decisions from ethical standards of a more recent day. Dunbar-Ortiz’s history unapologetically makes recommendations that go hand-in-hand with the American political left. She does not attempt to moderate these views in the least or to bring them into dialogue with more neoconservative voices. Rather, she sees the neoconservative voices as the enemy to be overcome. And she makes a pretty good case from history as to why these voices are the enemy. The starkness in her tone is one often heard in wartime, and being from an indigenous background herself, she explains the hostility very clearly. That said, she does a fairly good job of sticking to the facts, facts often overlooked in US education. She is not careful on some fronts – like with her overblown (but debated) statement that there were 100 million indigenous people in modern America before Columbus. Still, she gives us an understanding of why indigenous Americans are distrustful of federal and state governments. To some, like my wife, former US president Andrew Jackson will always be a genocidal leader on the order of Stalin or Hitler for the Trail of Tears. Dunbar-Ortiz’s examination clearly shows why. This book was written before the Trump era, and some of its analysis in then-contemporary events reflects that. It seems embroiled in the left-versus-right era of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama years, rather than in populist white nationalism. Nonetheless, it shows where the nationalist sentiments that Trump unearthed came from historically. White Christian nationalism has a long history in the United States, particularly on the frontier where it kept “law and order.” Dunbar-Ortiz shows that there isn’t anything new here, and her voice has relevance even in a new paradigm. Thinking readers of all sorts can benefit from wrestling with her respective that represents a significant segment of the US populace.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Must-Read For Anyone Who Lives In the U.S.
This book made me stop and think. Not only about history that I was taught and now understood in a new lens but also history that I had never heard of. Ortiz reiterated how the past is so present in the now and addressing our individual and shared histories is the basis for a strong future.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Really a book of awakening
This book is not for faint-hearted. It is a historical chronicle of Genocide of the Indigenes living in what is now US. No, US then was not a vacant land. Up to 10 millions people lived in the land and were mostly eliminated by settler-colonialists. The scope of this book is vast, and one or two historical factual inadequacy do not take away from this book’s path-breaking contribution. I understand that this book could be very disturbing for some people who are brought up with a completely different narrative about the birth of US.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Inaccurate / Opinionated
The book is inundated with false information from “In Country” being an abbreviated military term for “Indian Country,” to the US Military being a large purchaser of the Winchester lever action repeating rifle. “In Country” simply means in country, as how long were you in country. The US Military did not purchase Winchester repeaters, but rather trap door breach loading Springfields. The author cites John Grenier’s “First Way of War” frequently, but misquotes him on multiple occasions ... even when a direct quote is implied. The book is far from being a take off on Howard Zinn’s “A Peoples’ History of the United States.”
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com