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alleerose 's review for:
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
I didn't think I could still really be surprised by the history of US imperialism and colonialism, but there are layers to it I was surprised to uncover here. Dunbar-Ortiz makes the case for the genocide of Indigenous people as a blueprint for the US' imperialist endeavors abroad.
The book begins with an overview of the existing pre-columbian societies and the infrastructure they established across the continent before the arrival of settlers. The rest of the book focuses on Indigenous peoples vis a vis colonization and genocide - the westward expansion, 'Indian wars', treaty betrayals, boarding schools, up until the current movement for Indigenous sovereignty and land back.
To be clear, this book is more a history of the United States through an indigenous lens - not necessarily the history of Indigenous people (I was maybe expecting the book to focus a bit more on that). To what extent there is a story to be told outside of settler colonialism, I don't know, but that's not what this book is attempting. Also, somewhat obviously since it's condensing 500 years of history into 230 pages, it's more of a broad survey rather than an in-depth examination of any one period of time.
Should be required reading for everyone. The (attempted) genocide of an entire continent is one thing; the continuing dishonesty and gaslighting about US history takes it to another level.
The book begins with an overview of the existing pre-columbian societies and the infrastructure they established across the continent before the arrival of settlers. The rest of the book focuses on Indigenous peoples vis a vis colonization and genocide - the westward expansion, 'Indian wars', treaty betrayals, boarding schools, up until the current movement for Indigenous sovereignty and land back.
To be clear, this book is more a history of the United States through an indigenous lens - not necessarily the history of Indigenous people (I was maybe expecting the book to focus a bit more on that). To what extent there is a story to be told outside of settler colonialism, I don't know, but that's not what this book is attempting. Also, somewhat obviously since it's condensing 500 years of history into 230 pages, it's more of a broad survey rather than an in-depth examination of any one period of time.
Should be required reading for everyone. The (attempted) genocide of an entire continent is one thing; the continuing dishonesty and gaslighting about US history takes it to another level.