An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

Challenging centuries of conventional narratives, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's groundbreaking 'An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States' radically reframes American history from the perspective of its original inhabitants. This essential work dismantles the founding myths of the United States, meticulously detailing the systemic and often genocidal policies of the settler-colonial regime that sought to displace or eliminate Indigenous peoples. Dunbar-Ortiz reveals how, despite overwhelming odds, Native Americans consistently and actively resisted the expansion of the US empire, a struggle frequently omitted from official histories. Spanning over four hundred years, the book connects historical injustices to contemporary issues, providing critical context for movements such as Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the Dakota Access Pipeline protest. By illuminating the ruthless actions of figures like Andrew Jackson and General Thomas S. Jesup, and the complicity of popular culture, this 'bottom-up' history explodes the silences in the national narrative, offering a vital resource for understanding the true complexities of the American past and its enduring impact on the present.