A review by beebeewin
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

5.0

This is a book that every U.S. citizen should have to read. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz unflinching tells the entire history of the settler-colonization of North America. It is painful and heartbreaking to read each page as it unfolds, but was eye-opening and informative because of that willingness to talk about everything. It exposed how little we are taught in schools and how so much of the history taught is plastering over the atrocities to celebrate our "great" nation. I will definitely carry a lot of knowledge forward with me from this and it reminds me of the importance of putting my money and time into dismantling the colonialism still riff within our country, especially when it comes to our military. We should all be supporting Land Back, honoring of treaties, and repatriation of sacred lands, indigenous bodies and artifacts, because this country has been built off of the land and backs of indigenous peoples and it is time to right that wrong. Please read this book even if it is hard because we need to learn our history so we can make it right. I recommend this book to everyone. 

Also shout out to the Unitarian Universalist Association, my religion, for coming out and repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery (pg.200). May we all strive to remove that narrative from our head and see the history of the US for what it is, a history of violence,  genocide, racism, and a false belief in our own godliness. 
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