Native Nations

A Millennium in North America

By: Kathleen DuVal

Narrated by: Carolina Hoyos

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.

Well focused history of North American indigenous people

This book presents a dense and detailed review of the history of a few selected Native American societies (nations) in North America. It describes the hardships, mistreatment, strengths, resilience, virtues and problems of each nation, and dispels many myths and misperceptions about native peoples. In my view, it moves too fast, and is too complex and detailed, to be properly comprehended in an audiobook, so I would recommend the print version.

Eye opening. Liberating.

Inconvenient truths that can free us from our entrenched epistemological ignorance. Grateful for all those whose labor and insight had made this work possible.

Outstanding book -both narrative and narrator

The author tells the story in a clear, comprehensible, and well-documented narrative. Outstanding narrator. Really enjoyed listening to this book though the story is shameful for the Euro-American descendants. It should never be forgotten that we live on stolen lands

East coast and SW focus.

Good overview of tribal relationships and relationship with the colonizing population and government. More discussion of federal policy and promises would have highlighted the true relationship and the steal that was imposed on tribal nations.

strong correction to standard history

Fascinating. DuVal writes a history of natives with far more agency than typical US histories. She goes beyond wars and territorial disputes to paint a picture of the day to day lives and cultures of men and women in many nations over 1,000 years.