"Going beyond the story of America as a country "discovered" by a few brave men in the "New World," Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity. The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples' resistance, resilience, and fight against imperialism in the United States, revealing the roles that colonialism and American policies played in forming a national identity. - (Baker & Taylor)

2020 American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Honor Book

2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People,selected by National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council


2019 Best-Of Lists: Best YA Nonfiction of 2019 (Kirkus Reviews) · Best Nonfiction of 2019 (School Library Journal) · Best Books for Teens (New York Public Library) · Best Informational Books for Older Readers (Chicago Public Library)
Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples’ resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism.

Going beyond the story of America as a country “discovered” by a few brave men in the “New World,” Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity.

The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history. - (Random House, Inc.)

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, a New York Times best-selling author, has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than 4 decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. She lives in San Francisco.

Debbie Reese is an educator and founder of American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL). She is tribally enrolled at Nambe Owingeh, a federally recognized tribe, and grew up on Nambe’s reservation. She holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois.

Jean Mendoza is a curriculum specialist focusing on the representation of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult literature. She holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction and an M.Ed in early childhood education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. - (Random House, Inc.)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* This adaptation of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (2014) should be required reading for all middle and high schoolers—and their teachers. Dunbar-Ortiz's scrutinous accounts of Indigenous histories are well-known among history buffs, and in this revision by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, the same level of detail is maintained while still accommodating a teenage audience. From start to finish, they tell a story of resistance to the strategically brutal removal of Native peoples from sea to shining sea, a result of settler colonial policies. There is much to commend here: the lack of sugar-coating, the debunking of origin stories, the linking between ideology and actions, the well-placed connections among events past and present, the quotes from British colonizers and American presidents that leave no doubt as to their violent intentions. Built-in prompts call upon readers to reflect and think critically about their own prior knowledge. Terms like "settler" and "civilization" are called into question. Text is broken up by maps, photographs, images by Native artists, propaganda, and primary-source texts that provide more evidence of the depth to which the US economy was—and still is—rooted in the destruction of Indigenous lives. The resistance continues, and this book urges all readers to consider their own roles, whether as bystanders or upstanders. Grades 7-12. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.