Book review: An
Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz,
Boston: Beacon Press, 2014
This is a book about the history of the United
States, and the concurrent histories of the indigenous peoples who lived in
North America before there was a “United States.” Surely you already know,
deeply or vaguely, that these are violent histories of conflict, betrayal and
subjugation.
Full disclosure: this is not an easy book. If you
are an American historian or a student of American history, you should read it.
Don’t expect to enjoy it. Dunbar-Ortiz frankly admits that she had “grave
misgivings” about her mandate to “write accessibly so it would engage multiple
audiences.” She uses the word “genocide”
a half dozen times in the first few pages, and repeatedly thereafter, and this
sets a tone for the entire book.
Here are selected chapter sub-headings—they’re not a
representative sample, but they are illustrative:
- White
Supremacy and Class
- Roots
of Genocide
- Settler-Parasites
Create the Virginia Colony
- Career
Building Through Genocide
- The
Genocidal Army of the West
- Greed
is Good
- North
America is a Crime Scene
Dunbar-Ortiz concludes by endorsing a Native
American historian’s observation that “…while living persons are not
responsible for what their ancestors did, they are responsible for the society
they live in, which is a product of that past.” The author argues for “honoring
the treaties…restoring all sacred sites, starting with the Black Hills and
including most federally held parks…[restoring] all stolen sacred items and
body parts…payment of sufficient reparations for the reconstruction and
expansion of Native nations.”
That is a conclusion of historic proportions that
engages multiple audiences. Dunbar-Ortiz had grave misgivings before she wrote
this book. I think many readers will feel the same.
Copyright © Richard Carl
Subber 2015 All rights reserved.
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