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

Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese are long-time collaborators on articles and presentations about Indigenous people in children’s books. Mendoza, of European ancestry, and Reese, a Nambé Owingeh citizen, both hold doctorates in curriculum and instruction. After hearing requests for a young adult version of Indigenous Peoples’ History, Dunbar-Ortiz asked her publisher about it, who then contacted Reese.

This adaptation targets middle-grade readers who have a basic knowledge of American history that is mostly favorable. Mendoza and Reese streamline events for simplicity. For example, in the original text, Dunbar-Ortiz goes more in depth about the tense political situation of the Aztecs and how the Indigenous allies that worked with the Spanish would not have known their intentions. The team tempered some of the stronger content for its audience, which would include Indigenous children learning about their history for the first time. It only briefly discusses cultural appropriation, where White people use Indigenous accessories for frivolous affairs like sports and Halloween costumes. When the book brings up sports team names, it goes beyond the obvious example of the Washington Football Team’s former mascot to make a point about how most of them glorify warfare. In addition, the adapters note a bias towards male figures and encourages readers to find Indigenous stories about famous women.

Mendoza and Reese design this edition to resemble a history textbook. Each chapter has multiple subheads along with sidebars, bulleted lists, and pictures. It provides definitions for words like “cult” as well as explanations for issues like White supremacy. The two often show their work, such as explaining step-by-step how they used a website to find Sun Elk’s identity, and encourage readers to conduct their own research. Finally, they ask open-ended questions to help readers become critical thinkers.

Like Dunbar-Ortiz, the adapters want the reader to understand the role of perseverance in Indigenous life and that they are not a dying people. In an interview, Mendoza noted how listing people as “Euro-American” in the index helped readers shake the notion of White being the default skin color, and she hoped that non-Native readers would use the book to understand the continued influence of settler colonialism so they can “dismantle” it in their own neighborhoods (Rogers, Kim. “Native Voices: Co-Authors Dr. Debbie Reese & Dr. Jean Mendoza on Writing History.” Cynsations. 3 March 2020.)

Readers may be familiar with maps that depict the territories of Indigenous nations before the arrival of Europeans. While their borders were loose, the peoples and cultures on what is now called North America were as diverse as those across the Atlantic Ocean, with trading networks and sophisticated governments. Dunbar-Ortiz’s focuses on how they maintained their ways of life against European invasions.

Some nations maintained unity throughout these trials, which included warfare, disease, and the genocidal destruction of towns and resources. The six Iroquois nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy practiced democratic norms before the arrival of English colonists and maintain its Great Law of Peace to this day. It also refused to vote in US elections as a symbol of its independence. In the south, the Cherokee were powerful enough to withstand both direct and irregular warfare by the British Empire, and Thomas Jefferson struggled to drive them from their homeland. The nation defended its treaty rights in the Supreme Court, leading Andrew Jackson to refuse to enforce the results and imprison Cherokee leaders during Indian Removal Act negotiations. The Pueblo of the Southwest resisted Spanish missionaries and later secured legal victories to regain the sacred Blue Lake. The Modoc, Apache, Seminole, and Sioux, among others, all maintained sustained defenses against the US military.

Today, Indigenous nations continue to use the courts to enforce still-standing treaties. Dunbar-Ortiz stresses the importance that modern laws like the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act use language that position Indigenous nations as independent entities. The introduction of casinos to reservations serves as both a revenue source and a way to fund education efforts like the National Museum of the American Indian.

This adaptation does not cover social problems within reservations—often the result of intergenerational trauma from those who endured forced assimilation. This partly feeds into the terminal narrative of Indigenous people as poor and forgotten, which could make young people reinforce negative stereotypes. Focusing on ongoing fights encourages others to support Indigenous causes.