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Native Nations: A Millennium in North America Audiobook
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A magisterial history of Indigenous North America that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today
“A feat of both scholarship and storytelling.”—Claudio Saunt, author of Unworthy Republic
Long before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. And, as award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal vividly recounts, when Europeans did arrive, no civilization came to a halt because of a few wandering explorers, even when the strangers came well armed.
A millennium ago, North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged, moving away from rather than toward urbanization. From this urban past, egalitarian government structures, diplomacy, and complex economies spread across North America. So, when Europeans showed up in the sixteenth century, they encountered societies they did not understand—those having developed differently from their own—and whose power they often underestimated.
For centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests. In Native Nations, we see how Mohawks closely controlled trade with the Dutch—and influenced global markets—and how Quapaws manipulated French colonists. Power dynamics shifted after the American Revolution, but Indigenous people continued to command much of the continent’s land and resources. Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa forged new alliances and encouraged a controversial new definition of Native identity to attempt to wall off U.S. ambitions. The Cherokees created institutions to assert their sovereignty on the global stage, and the Kiowas used their power in the west to regulate the passage of white settlers across their territory.
In this important addition to the growing tradition of North American history centered on Indigenous nations, Kathleen DuVal shows how the definitions of power and means of exerting it shifted over time, but the sovereignty and influence of Native peoples remained a constant—and will continue far into the future.
*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains select photographs, illustrations, and maps from the book.
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"Kathleen DuVal has crafted a masterful new narrative of Indigenous North America. Drawing from extensive research, DuVal weaves centuries of Native American history into crisp and engaging stories of Indigenous power, adaptation, and resilience. Throughout her chapters, DuVal keeps women, families, and Native commoners at the center of her stories, so readers are treated to an analysis that moves beyond the examination of lives of great men and showcases the myriad ways Native people from all walks of life shaped the continent. Most impressively, even as she unearths stories from hundreds of years ago, DuVal never loses sight of the critical significance of these pasts for contemporary Native communities and for the United States writ large. A triumph."
— Elizabeth N. Ellis, author of The Great Power of Small Nations
Quotes
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A page-turner . . . DuVal offers us a new chronology of early America, and her genius is to use tight examples of individual families and communities that focus on community building and adapting to shifting circumstances, rather than war and loss.
— Anne F. Hyde, author of Born of Lakes and Plains -
In DuVal’s hands, the bleak picture that many readers have been shown of Native people is not inevitable or nonsensical—it is a product of a history of white Americans’ choices to wage a cultural war, when the military war did not succeed.
— Malinda Maynor Lowery, author of The Lumbee Indians -
In this sensible, lucid, and wide-ranging book, Kathleen DuVal recounts a sobering yet remarkable history of survival despite sweeping efforts to destroy Native peoples.
— Alan Taylor, author of American Republics: A Continental History, 1783–1850 -
A triumph.
— Elizabeth N. Ellis, author of The Great Power of Small Nations -
Native Nations provides a new way of understanding the long sweep of Native American history.
— Daniel K. Richter, author of Before the Revolution: America’s Ancient Pasts -
Demonstrating that Native peoples’ collective efforts to resist colonialism and racism often depended paradoxically on asserting their distinct national identities, Native Nations provides a new way of understanding the long sweep of Native American history. Based on prodigious research, reflecting the latest scholarship, and incorporating diverse perspectives, Kathleen DuVal’s engagingly written new book reveals how Indigenous peoples’ varied strategies of presence, resistance, and endurance fundamentally shaped the governmental and social structures of the United States as we know it today.
— Daniel K. Richter, author of Before the Revolution: America’s Ancient Pasts -
Scores of Native nations defend their sovereignty within the United States—to the confusion of many Americans. In this sensible, lucid, and wide-ranging book, Kathleen DuVal recounts a sobering yet remarkable history of survival despite sweeping efforts to destroy Native peoples. Resourceful and determined, Native Americans have endured by resisting while adapting—ultimately to the benefit of all who now share this continent.
— Alan Taylor, author of American Republics: A Continental History, 1783–1850 -
A revelatory account of the power and influence of Indigenous peoples in North America.
— Kirkus (starred review) -
[A] prodigiously researched and enlightening study [that] recenters the past 1,000 years of Native North American history around the political power exercised by Indigenous governments . . .
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
Without minimizing the destructive effects of Euro-American colonialism, Kathleen DuVal has given us a vital new history leading to today’s more than five hundred Native nations in the United States.
— Andrés Reséndez, author of The Other Slavery -
Native Nations is a feat of both scholarship and storytelling. . . .
— Claudio Saunt, author of Unworthy Republic -
While much of the history written about Native American people has focused on white experiences . . . Kathleen DuVal focuses on the growth and change of Indigenous polities and cultures.
— Anton Treuer, author of The Cultural Toolbox -
DuVal recounts this remarkable and fascinating story of power and endurance with sympathy, eloquence, and attention to all kinds of different people. A stunning achievement.
— Sarah Pearsall, author of Polygamy: An Early American History -
Even the most expert reader is likely to learn something new from DuVal’s deep research and carefully crafted narrative.
— Warren Milteer, Jr., author of Beyond Slavery’s Shadow -
An exemplary model of how Native American history should be written.
— Brooke M. Bauer, author of Becoming Catawba -
Native Nations provides a much-needed corrective to the popular myth of Indigenous decline and disappearance.
— Christina Nicole Snyder, author of Great Crossings -
[A] prodigiously researched and enlightening study [that] recenters the past 1,000 years of Native North American history around the political power exercised by Indigenous governments.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
Native Nations is a feat of both scholarship and storytelling. . . . DuVal introduces us to ancient Indigenous cities, eighteenth-century square grounds, and modern tribal capitals, showing how, against all odds, Native peoples defended their sovereignty and sustained their cultural traditions.
— Claudio Saunt, author of Unworthy Republic -
Native Nations is a sweeping history of Indigenous peoples in North America. While much of the history written about Native American people has focused on white experiences . . . Kathleen DuVal focuses on the growth and change of Indigenous polities and cultures.
— Anton Treuer, author of The Cultural Toolbox -
DuVal recounts this remarkable and fascinating story of power and endurance with sympathy, eloquence, and attention to all kinds of different people. A stunning achievement.
— Sarah M. S. Pearsall, author of Polygamy: An Early American History -
Even the most expert reader is likely to learn something new from DuVal’s deep research and carefully crafted narrative.
— Warren Eugene Milteer, Jr., author of Beyond Slavery’s Shadow -
A page-turner . . .
— Anne F. Hyde, author of Born of Lakes and Plains -
A revelatory account of the power and influence of Indigenous peoples in North America.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
Even the most expert reader is likely to learn something new from DuVal’s deep research and carefully crafted narrative.
— Warren Eugene Milteer, Jr., author of Beyond Slavery’s Shadow -
DuVal recounts this remarkable and fascinating story of power and endurance with sympathy, eloquence, and attention to all kinds of different people. A stunning achievement.
— Sarah M. S. Pearsall, author of Polygamy: An Early American History -
Native Nations is a sweeping history of Indigenous peoples in North America. While much of the history written about Native American people has focused on white experiences . . . Kathleen DuVal focuses on the growth and change of Indigenous polities and cultures.
— Anton Treuer, author of The Cultural Toolbox -
Native Nations is a feat of both scholarship and storytelling. . . . DuVal introduces us to ancient Indigenous cities, eighteenth-century square grounds, and modern tribal capitals, showing how, against all odds, Native peoples defended their sovereignty and sustained their cultural traditions.
— Claudio Saunt, author of Unworthy Republic -
An exemplary model of how Native American history should be written. Kathleen DuVal’s contribution to Native North American history demonstrates her deep love of history and unquestionable commitment to working with citizens of modern Native nations.
— Brooke M. Bauer, author of Becoming Catawba -
A page-turner . . . DuVal offers us a new chronology of early America, and her genius is to use tight examples of individual families and communities that focus on community building and adapting to shifting circumstances, rather than war and loss.
— Anne F. Hyde, author of Born of Lakes and Plains -
Native Nations is a powerful story of Indigenous peoples’ continued survival, resistance, and strength. . . . Even the most expert reader is likely to learn something new.
— Warren Eugene Milteer, Jr., author of Beyond Slavery’s Shadow -
DuVal offers herself to the reader as a kind of friendly tour guide. Conducting us skillfully on this journey through a perilous history fraught with colonial violence, DuVal brings the reader finally to a hopeful and resurgent Native present.
— Nicole Eustace, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Covered with Night -
While much of the history written about Native American people has focused on white experiences . . . Kathleen DuVal focuses on the growth and change of Indigenous polities and cultures.
— Anton Treuer, author of The Cultural Toolbox -
[A] prodigiously researched and enlightening study [that] recenters the past 1,000 years of Native North American history around the political power exercised by Indigenous governments . . .
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
A triumph.
— Elizabeth N. Ellis, author of The Great Power of Small Nations -
Showing rich awareness of the deep and living significance of Indigenous histories and voices, DuVal's remarkable book is an indispensable guide to the epic history of Native North America.
— Caroline Dodds Pennock, author of On Savage Shores -
. . . prodigiously researched and enlightening.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
Conducting us skillfully on this journey through a perilous history fraught with colonial violence, DuVal brings the reader finally to a hopeful and resurgent Native present.
— Nicole Eustace, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Covered with Night -
A page-turner . . . DuVal offers us a new chronology of early America.
— Anne F. Hyde, author of Born of Lakes and Plains -
. . . a vital new history leading to today’s more than five hundred Native nations in the United States.
— Andrés Reséndez, author of The Other Slavery -
In this sensible, lucid, and wide-ranging book, Kathleen DuVal recounts a sobering yet remarkable history of survival despite sweeping efforts to destroy Native peoples.
— Alan Taylor, author of American Republics: A Continental History, 1783–1850 -
A vital new history leading to today’s more than five hundred Native nations in the United States.
— Andrés Reséndez, author of The Other Slavery -
Both majestic in scope and intimate in tone. . . . No single volume can adequately depict the gamut of Indigenous cultures, but DuVal's comes close. . . . Native Nations belongs on the same shelf as Blackhawk's magisterial work and Charles Mann's 1491.
— Hamilton Cain, Minneapolis Star-Tribune -
An indispensable guide to the epic history of Native North America.
— Caroline Dodds Pennock, author of On Savage Shores -
prodigiously researched and enlightening.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
A vital new history leading to today’s more than five hundred Native nations in the United States.
— Andrés Reséndez, author of The Other Slavery -
sensible, lucid, and wide-ranging . . . DuVal recounts a sobering yet remarkable history of survival despite sweeping efforts to destroy Native peoples.
— Alan Taylor, author of American Republics: A Continental History, 1783–1850 -
While much of the history written about Native American people has focused on white experiences . . . DuVal focuses on the growth and change of Indigenous polities and cultures.
— Anton Treuer, author of The Cultural Toolbox -
A much-needed corrective to the popular myth of Indigenous decline and disappearance.
— Christina Nicole Snyder, author of Great Crossings -
Nuanced and rigorous . . . In DuVal’s hands, the bleak picture that many readers have been shown of Native people is not inevitable or nonsensical.
— Malinda Maynor Lowery, author of The Lumbee Indians -
An essential American history . . . Examining both past and present from an indigenous rather than a European perspective, [Kathleen] DuVal fuses a millennium of Native American history into a thought-provoking, persuasive whole.
— The Wall Street Journal
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