A Full Accounting of American History

Brian Ward

The Rediscovery of America:
Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
By Ned Blackhawk
Yale University Press, 2023, 616 pages, $22 paper.

“SCHOLARS HAVE RECENTLY come to view African American slavery as central to the making of America, but few have seen Native Americans in a similar light. Binary, rather than multiracial, conceptions dominate studies of the past in which slavery represents the antithesis of the American idea.” (3)

Ned Blackhawk continues: “Exiled from the American origin story, Indigenous peoples await the telling of a history that includes them. It was the garden homelands, after all, that birthed America.” (3)

This is the undertaking of his book, placing Indigenous people and their land at the heart of the origin story of America.

The Rediscovery of America offers a profound and intricate exploration of Indigenous history and its integral role in shaping the United States. Blackhawk, a distinguished historian at Yale University and scholar of Native American studies, offers a compelling narrative that challenges conventional perspectives and invites readers to reconsider the foundational narratives of American history.

When one first looks at The Rediscovery of America, one might assume it is simply a Native perspective of American history. While this is partially true, the book more comprehensively examines the history of what is now known as the United States, incorporating Native voices and exploring the complex effects settler colonialism had on them. It also highlights how Indigenous nations shaped international politics throughout history.

The Rediscovery of America attempts to do for Native Americans what The 1619 Project did for the less discussed history of African Americans. This work comes on the heels of more and more Indigenous authors and books that are countering mainstream narratives. Much like the Black LIves Matter movement, we saw the rise in Indigenous struggles such as the 2016 Standing Rock protest, which were some of the largest Indigenous-led protests since the 1970s.

Blackhawk shines light on how “free” land along with “free” labor set the United States’ origins. The theme at the heart of this origin story is settler colonialism. The very nature of settler colonialism is genocidal, requiring the dispossession, displacement and forced assimilation of the Indigenous population in order to create a new settler society.

Many mainstream historians will put this time period from the U.S. origins in the 1770s until the 1890s. However, many argue and I think Blackhawk would agree that settler colonialism is an ongoing process.

Settlers are moving in before treaties are ever signed, and then force a negotiation to take more land. Over 100,000 settlers moved into Indigenous territories between 1770 and 1790.

From the arrival of Columbus until the late 1800s, the individual settler bene?ted from the displacement of Indigenous people, while in the 21st century that role is mainly played by corporations like Energy Transfer LP that pushed through the Dakota Access Pipeline. But individual settlers still own land from the systematic process of land theft.

Nick Estes, author of Our History is the Future says, “According to a 2002 report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), white settlers own 96 percent of private agricultural lands in the United States, and 98 percent of all U.S. private lands overall.”

The U.S. origin story we tell ourselves has only been reinforced by the attempted erasure from society and the history books. Blackhawk talks about the new development of settler studies, which for obvious reasons places the elimination of Indigenous people at the center, which is important for the understanding of settler societies.

But the book goes beyond just that, saying: “Native peoples simultaneously determined colonial economies, settlements, and politics and were shaped by them.” The account essentially puts Native peoples as active players in this process, and asserts that the end result was not a forgone conclusion.

Early Struggles

The narrative arc of The Rediscovery of America begins with the early interactions between Indigenous peoples and European settlers, particularly the Spanish and French. The book explores the different power dynamics on the continent prior to and during the early arrival of Europeans.

Blackhawk places powerful nations such as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy as important allies and enemies to European rivals, especially early on when what became a settler colony was not necessarily a foregone conclusion. These nations faced off as equals, sometimes playing different allies and players off each other for their benefit.

European colonial powers in North America faced Indigenous nations as allies or foes, shaping international politics such as the 1750s French-Indian War that reshaped French and British land claims in North America and elsewhere.

The French fur trade may not have brought as many settlers, but did transform how Indigenous people related to the market — hunting for the market rather than for human need. Oftentimes Indigenous nations were trading furs for European items without interacting with white folks.

Not until 140 pages in does the book start to discuss the American revolution that led to the establishment of the settler republic we currently know.

As the United States developed, it grappled with what was termed the “Indian problem,” a euphemism for the challenge of dealing with Indigenous populations who resisted displacement and assimilation. Blackhawk delves into the policies and practices employed by the U.S. government to address this “problem,” including forced removals, treaties and violent confrontations.

When the settler project began to take shape, the land was key and the relationship between settlers and Indigenous Nations started to change. After millions of Indigenous people being forced into slavery and fighting in international conflicts like the French-Indian War, the basic game plan for the founding fathers was to eliminate the Indigenous population in order to get at their land and to use African enslaved labor to build the wealth of the nation.

The United States used the “Doctrine of Discovery” to codify their stealing of land. The Doctrine of Discovery (a Catholic Church initiative) asserted that lands not inhabited by Christians could be claimed by Christian rulers.

In the United States, the Doctrine was referenced in the 1823 Supreme Court case Johnson v. M’Intosh, which established that Indigenous peoples had no ownership rights to their lands, only a right of occupancy, thus facilitating further land dispossession. This set up the legal argument, still used to this day, that Indigenous people never had the right to own the land, opening a pathway to the theft of that land.

The Rediscovery of America portrays Native nations active participants in this process. Sometimes these nations have the upper hand, sometimes they are backed into a corner. Forced to make difficult decisions, sometimes they are victims of violence, sometimes they are active agents for their liberation.

This is an important narrative shift. For too long we have seen Native folks as simply stereotypes. One should not be surprised that most people view Natives as stuck in the past and in the way of “progress.”

Expanding Settler Colonialism

As Blackhawk uncovers the role the U.S. government played in dealing with the “Indian problem,” we can see parallels with how the United States has dealt with international issues today, notably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Settlers moved further west, usually against the United States’ own laws, treaties or orders. They would often be condemned by the government when settlers’ actions didn’t serve its interest. But the government then used settlers when needed — and violence was used every step of the way.

Once the west was flooded with settlers, the government had very little control over that movement. Despite this, the government was happy to allow settlement as it created conflicts with Indigenous nations and pressured them to surrender land.

In the Great Lakes region the government facilitated treaties that further established land cessions. This then enabled more and more settlers to arrive while Native nations were starved for resources.

Treaties that would allow them to hunt and fish off reservation went unenforced. As Blackhawk says:

“Racial, economic, and political tensions brewed each season. As farms multiplied, game became scarcer. Indian families grew hungry while white farms overflowed with produce, grain, and livestock. Exports followed, as the region’s farm surpluses mirrored its demographic swells. The number of pigs sent to slaughter in Chicago rose from twenty-two thousand in 1852 to five hundred thousand within a decade. Untold thousands arrived by railway from other farmlands, and by the time of the Civil War, the city held a million pigs in its pens. By 1877 (they) totaled 4 million.” (292)

This transformation forced more and more conflict between settlers and Native peoples over resources. This context demonstrates why an uprising like the one in 1862 between Minnesota settlers and the Dakota Nation would occur.

As the United States forced the Dakota and others nations into unfair treaties and agreements over this time, the Dakota were forced onto a narrow reservation (20 miles wide) along the Minnesota River and faced untenable conditions for a people used to the open hunting spaces of western Minnesota and the Dakotas. With less access to food and their culture, the conditions were created for Little Crow and others to organize their forces to plan an uprising, which is also known as the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

Resistance to such conditions is often violent because of the violence that an oppressed group faces every day. Little Crow’s band attacked the Lower Sioux Agency and then attacked settlers throughout the area in an effort to drive the colonizers out of their territory.

This continued for five weeks and resulted in the killing of over 350 white settlers and 100 soldiers. One hundred and fifty Dakota also took white settlers as hostages. Following the uprising, the Dakota were forced into a concentration camp at Fort Snelling.

After all was said and done Abraham Lincoln ordered the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Mankato, Minnesota on December 26, 1862, the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The following year the Dakota were removed to what is modern-day South Dakota at the Crow Creek reservation.

Following this uprising the U.S. government reined in the settlers and consolidated their power. Blackhawk Discussing this legislation, Blackhawk writes:

“Sweeping legislation in 1862 included the Homestead Act, Morrill Act, and the chartering of the Union Pacific Railroad. Each law extended federal authority over western lands, education, and infrastructure. For the time being, however, settler booms continued unabated and contributed more to the destruction of Indigenous worlds than any formal national policy. Indeed, the limited presence of the state engendered genocidal violence across the West.” (293)

Going Global to Gaza

This dynamic has continued. Today the United States’ international proxies are what settlers were for it in the past. U.S. policy will let them do as much as they want until they are no longer useful.

Reading the story of the Dakota people and the entirety of Blackhawk’s book, one can’t help but see the parallels between the conditions in Gaza to those of Indigenous people being forced onto reservation lands and how that can lead to violence. Today most liberals would celebrate the Indigenous resistance to colonization. But we are seeing the same genocidal policies and military efforts unfold before our eyes in Palestine.

Like the early U.S. militias, Israeli settlers develop militias to fight Palestinians with the support of the Israeli Defense Forces. One must understand the everyday violence that occurs under settler colonialism in order to understand the violence that reacts to that violence.

The connection to Palestine, though not explicit in the book, cannot be lost during this political movement. One could argue that U.S. foreign policy today has roots in the wars with Indigenous nations. Liberals may not love Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he is allowed to do what he wants with impunity and continues to get U.S. weapons even though a phone call from Washington could rein him in.

Despite all the violence that Indigenous nations have endured, they have resisted settler colonialism every step of the way. They have employed a variety of strategies to defend their lands, cultures, and sovereignty.

These strategies have included armed resistance, legal battles, and the preservation of cultural practices and languages. In the face of challenges, Indigenous communities have demonstrated resilience and adaptability, often forming alliances and using diplomatic means to assert their rights.

This resistance has not only been a fight for survival, but also a struggle for justice and looking towards the future generations.

Critical Insights

In addition to such connections that the reader can make to Palestine for example, The Rediscovery of America offers critical insights into contemporary issues affecting Native American communities. Blackhawk discusses topics such as land rights, cultural preservation and political representation, underscoring the relevance of historical understanding in addressing present challenges.

Blackhawk’s writing is both accessible and engaging, making complex historical concepts understandable to a broad audience. His ability to weave together diverse narratives and perspectives creates a compelling and thought-provoking reading experience.

The book is a valuable resource not only for students and scholars of history, but also for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the U.S. past and its ongoing relationship with Native American peoples.

In conclusion, The Rediscovery of America is a significant contribution to the field of Native American studies and American history. It challenges readers to rethink established narratives and recognize the vital role of Native Americans in the nation’s history.

While the United States continues to boast its origins in democracy and liberty, The Rediscovery of America, just like The 1619 Project, gives us the darker side of its history. In the age of a second Trump administration we have to think about the Indigenous communities that have faced oppression since Europeans came to North America.

Each nation faced their own “end of the world” with systematic displacement, dispossession and forced assimilation with legislation like the The Indian Removal Act, Dawes Act, and Indian Boarding Schools that stole children from Indigenous families to assimilate them into white American society. Thousands of Indigenous children were adopted out of their community, along with other policies that looked to solve the “Indian problem.”

These were attempts to destroy nations, and those nations resisted and rebuilt themselves to preserve systems of knowledge despite the government’s best efforts.

This history can inform our resistance in the new Trump age, and it’s the job of socialists to be the reminder that the age of Trump is not something new — rather, Trump is a reflection of the worst tendencies of our country. The choice facing us is whether to reject this system in favor of a liberated future for all.

July-August 2025, ATC 237