The history of North America’s Indigenous peoples is fraught with stereotypes – and often seen through a European lens. In Native Nations, historian Kathleen DuVal, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, sets the record straight, as she weaves together centuries of development to show how Indigenous groups have interacted with a shifting world.
From the Medieval Warm Period to the last glacial period, she shows how climate change shaped their agricultural and water management techniques. We also discover engineering marvels like the great mounds of Cahokia in modern Illinois and the Huhugam’s canal network in Arizona.
From astronomical calendars to smallpox’s spread after colonisation, DuVal’s book centres Indigenous peoples themselves, tearing down misconceptions.
If you are, like me, a fan of historical non-fiction, or keen on fresh views of ecology, botany, archaeology (and more), Native Nations will be an engaging read.
Kelsey Hayes
Chief Subeditor, London
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