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An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

Part of ReVisioning History for Young People

Written by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Adapted by Jean Mendoza, Debbie Reese

Paperback

$18.95 US

Beacon Press

5.5"W x 8"H x 0.8"D

On sale Jul 23, 2019 | 272 Pages | 978-0-8070-4939-6

Grades 6-12

Reading Level: Lexile 1220L

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Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples' resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism.

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.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma, the daughter of a tenant farmer and part-Indian mother. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than four decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. After receiving her PhD in history at the University of California at Los Angeles, she taught in the newly established Native American Studies Program at California State University, Hayward, and helped found the Departments of Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies. Her 1977 book The Great Sioux Nation was the fundamental document at the first international conference on Indigenous peoples of the Americas, held at the United Nations’ headquarters in Geneva. Dunbar-Ortiz is the author or editor of seven other books, including Roots of Resistance: A History of Land Tenure in New Mexico. She lives in San Francisco. Learn more about Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

A Note to Readers

INTRODUCTION
This Land

CHAPTER ONE
Follow the Corn

CHAPTER TWO
Culture of Conquest

CHAPTER THREE
Cult of the Covenant

CHAPTER FOUR
Bloody Footprints

CHAPTER FIVE
The Birth of a Nation

CHAPTER SIX
Jefferson, Jackson, and the Pursuit of Indigenous Homelands

CHAPTER SEVEN
Sea to Shining Sea

CHAPTER EIGHT
Indigenous Lands Become “Indian Country”

CHAPTER NINE
The Persistence of Sovereignty

CHAPTER TEN
Indigenous Action, Indigenous Rights

CONCLUSION
“Water Is Life”: Indigenous Resistance in the Twenty-First Century

For Further Reading
Some Books We Recommend
Notes
Image Credits
Index

Educator Guide for An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources. Many guides are correlated to Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Classroom Activities for An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

Classroom activities supplement discussion and traditional lessons with group projects and creative tasks. Can be used in pre-existing units and lessons, or as stand-alone.

“An important corrective to conventional narratives of our nation’s history . . . . An accessible, engaging, and necessary addition to school libraries and classrooms. An excellent read, dismantling American mythologies and fostering critical reasoning about history and current events.”
—Kirkus 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 . . . . 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 between events past and present, the quotes from British colonizers and American presidents that leave no doubt as to their violent intentions . . . . The resistance continues, and this book urges all readers to consider their own roles, whether as bystanders or upstanders.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

“Dunbar-Ortiz’s narrative history is clear, and the adapters give readers ample evidence and perspective to help them to engage with the text. A highly informative book for libraries serving high school students.”
—School Library Journal, Starred Review

“Gripping, tightly written, and packed with facts traditional textbooks and historical accounts neglect to cover.”
—Shelf Awareness

“Wide-ranging and politically engaged . . . a valuable resource.”
—The Horn Book

“This is a desperately needed corrective to existing histories for young people, and its combination of breadth and passion will spur both reflection and emotion.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“This is the book I wish I’d had when I started teaching. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People represents a fundamental challenge to the textbooks that celebrate ‘liberty,’ ‘freedom,’ and the ‘rise of the American nation’ but fail to recognize the humanity—or often even the existence—of the Indigenous peoples who were here first, and are still here. Our students will see the history of this country much more clearly when we put Indigenous people’s lives at the center.”
—Bill Bigelow, curriculum editor, Rethinking Schools, and codirector, Zinn Education Project

About

Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples' resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism.

Author

Guides

Educator Guide for An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

Classroom Activities for An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

Classroom activities supplement discussion and traditional lessons with group projects and creative tasks. Can be used in pre-existing units and lessons, or as stand-alone.

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Last week, the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter announced their 2020 literary award winners and honorees at its annual meeting. Below you can find which Penguin Random House titles appropriate for Middle School and High School students were among the winners. To see which Elementary School titles were honored, click here. Alex Award The Nickel Boys

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February 3 2020

Secondary Education Inspire Teaching and Learning with Outstanding Books

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People

Part of ReVisioning History for Young People

About

Author

Table of Contents

Guides

Praise

Other books in this series

Other books by this author

Penguin Random House ALA Midwinter Award Winners & Honorees for Secondary Education

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