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Ledger drawing of Plains Indians on horseback.

A Shameful US History Told Through Ledger Drawings

In the 19th century ledger drawings became a concentrated point of resistance for Indigenous people, an expression of individual and communal pride.
Ned Blackhawk and his book "The Rediscovery of America."

Ned Blackhawk Wants to Unmake the U.S. Origin Story

Professor Blackhawk’s new volume attempts to put Native peoples’ stories at the center of the history of the United States.
Painting, a portrait of Thayendanegea, depicting a a Native American in a red and orange headdress.

Do We Have the History of Native Americans Backward?

They dominated far longer than they were dominated, and, a new book contends, shaped the United States in profound ways.
An art installation that evokes the Hollywood sign with the phrase "Indian Land".

Contest or Conquest?

How best to tell the story of oppressed peoples? By chronicling the hardships they’ve faced? Or by highlighting their triumphs over adversity?
Map of British colonies of North America in 1776.

Colonial America Is a Myth

Rather than a “colonial America,” we should speak of an Indigenous America that was only slowly and unevenly becoming colonial.
English painting of Pocahontas by Simon van de Passe.

The Moment That Changed Colonial-Indigenous Relations Forever

How a massacre on March 22, 1622 irrevocably shaped relations between Indigenous Americans and English colonists.
Photograph of a Fish Weir

A River Interrupted

Why dam removal is critical for restoring the Charles River.
Occupation of Alcatraz; sign reads "Indians Welcome"

The Past and Future of Native California

A new book explores California’s history through the experience of its Native peoples.
Mount Rushmore.

The Battle for the Black Hills

Nick Tilsen was arrested for protesting President Trump at Mount Rushmore. Now, his legal troubles are part of a legacy.

What Tecumseh Fought For

Pursuing a Native alliance powerful enough to resist the American invaders, the Shawnee leader and his prophet brother envisioned a new and better Indian world.
Fish in water next to rocks at the base of Kinzua Dam

Halted Waters

The Seneca Nation and the building of the Kinzua Dam.

Can Colonial Nations Truly Recognise the Sovereignty of Indigenous People?

The Lakota, like other groups, see themselves as a sovereign people. Can Indigenous sovereignty survive colonisation?

The Vanishing Indians of “These Truths”

Jill Lepore's widely-praised history of the U.S. relies on the eventual exit of indigenous actors to make way for other dramas.

A History and Future of Resistance

The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline is part of a centuries-long indigenous struggle against dispossession.
Portrait of William Apess.

The Greatest Native American Intellectual You’ve Never Heard Of

The short life and long legacy of the 19th-century reformer William Apess.

History of Survivance: Upper Midwest 19th-Century Native American Narratives

A series of objects of both Native and non-Native origin that tell a story of extraordinary culture disruption.
Phil Little Thunder, a great-great-grandchild of the Lakota chief whose village was attacked in 1855.

How Recovering the History of a Little-Known Lakota Massacre Could Heal Generational Pain

The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation.
Allyson Gray strolls through Dragon Run, Virginia.

The Hidden Story of Native Tribes Who Outsmarted Bacon’s Rebellion

A scene of conflict that was lost to the ages has been unearthed, assembling an indigenous perspective on events at the very root of America’s founding.
Map of Cherokee Allotment from the Dawes Commission.

Coercion

“Allotment”—and its repercussions.
Painting of three Native Americans in colorful clothing, with other figures walking through forest in background.

Trails of Tears, Plural: What We Don’t Know About Indian Removal

The removal of Indigenous people was a national priority with broad consensus.
LaNada Means War Jack with raised fist at Indian Land sign on Alcatraz.
partner

The 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz Was a Catalyst for Indigenous Activism

American Indian tribes have long used activism in their struggle for justice and the preservation of their lands and culture.
Clyde Warrior and others displaying the Red Power sign at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) parade, 1966.

"Let's Raise Some Hell": Clyde Warrior and the Red Power Movement

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Siege of Wounded Knee, the 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee by American Indian Movement (AIM) activists.
Modoc leader Captain Jack.

150 Years Ago, the US Military Executed Modoc War Leaders in Fort Klamath, Oregon

A small band of Modoc warriors held off hundreds of U.S. soldiers in California. Ultimately, the conflict left the Modoc leaders dead and the tribe divided.
The Battle of Tippecanoe
original

Lost Prophets and Forgotten Heroes

Tracing the currents of American history that run through the Great Lakes region.
A herd of bison running.

Speaking Wind-Words

Tracing the transformation of the Great Plains to the widespread belief in “manifest destiny,” and weighing the power of words to shape landscapes.
Southwestern Indian drawing of people at work.

Saline Survivance: The Life of Salt and the Limits of Colonization in the Southwest

Once highly valuable, salt affords a new look at life, environment, and sovereignty in the southwest borderlands.
Illustration of the Battle of Little Big Horn.

The True History of 'Custer's Last Stand'

We're talking about the Battle of Little Bighorn all wrong.
California assemblyman and member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe James Ramos, Governor Gavin Newsom, and tribal leaders.

Reclaiming Native Identity in California

The genocide of Native Americans was nowhere more methodically savage than in California. A new state initiative seeks to reckon with this history.
A 1613 engraving of the July 1609 battle between Samuel de Champlain, his men, their Native allies, and Mohawk soldiers.

The Rediscovery of America: Why Native History is American History

Historian Ned Blackhawk’s new book stresses the importance of telling US history with a wider and more inclusive lens.
Protestors gathered at Wounded Knee in 2022, waving the flag of the American Indian Movement and an upside down United States of America flag. (Photograph by Eunice Straight Head)

The Siege of Wounded Knee Was Not an End but a Beginning

Fifty years ago, the Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization invited the American Indian Movement to Pine Ridge and reignited a resistance that has not left.

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