The Rediscovery of America

Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History (The Henry Roe Cloud Series on American Indians and Modernity)

By: Ned Blackhawk

Narrated by: Jason Grasl

The most enduring feature of US history is the presence of Native Americans, yet most histories focus on Europeans and their descendants. This long practice of ignoring Indigenous history is changing, however, with a new generation of scholars insists that any full American history address the struggle, survival, and resurgence of American Indian nations. Indigenous history is essential to understanding the evolution of modern America.

Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non-Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late twentieth century. In this transformative synthesis he shows that: European colonization in the 1600s was never a predetermined success; Native nations helped shape England's crisis of empire; the first shots of the American Revolution were prompted by Indian affairs in the interior; California Indians targeted by federally funded militias were among the first casualties of the Civil War; the Union victory forever recalibrated Native communities across the West; and twentieth-century reservation activists refashioned American law and policy. Blackhawk's retelling of US history acknowledges the enduring power, agency, and survival of Indigenous peoples, yielding a truer account of the United States and revealing anew the varied meanings of America.

©2023 Ned Blackhawk (P)2024 Tantor

Hardhitting no nonsense history

His perspective is just what is needed. Eye-opening, well-documented story. It is trite to say ‘I am ashamed of our ancestors’ but I really am. Yet a book like this also says, there are things to be done . Be watchdogs over our treacherous government. Thanks Ned Blackhawk! Brilliant analysis.

Excellent

I liked everything, the book itself, the narrator, the beginning, the middle and the ending.

The white man will always and forever attempt to rule the world imo

Excellent comprehensive history of Native Peoples and their impact on the development of America

Ned Blackhawk has done incredible research on the lives of Native peoples from Massachusetts to California and across the centuries. He proves his thesis that the indigenous have been integral in shaping our country and provides detailed stories of the impact and survival of many tribes across time and place. The scope is amazing and makes me want to rethink the way we teach US history.

How much I did not know and the lapses in my education.

I think this is a necessary read for everyone. Indian rights need to be fought for

Well research and informative

Excellent history that doesn’t just tell Native Smerican history, but its shared history with Euro-Americans.