Violence Over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West

by Ned Blackhawk Narrated by Curtis Michael Holland

Overview

American Indians remain familiar as icons, yet poorly understood as historical agents. In this ambitious book that ranges across Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and eastern California (a region known as the Great Basin), Ned Blackhawk places Native peoples squarely at the center of a dynamic and complex story as he chronicles two centuries of Indian and imperial history that profoundly shaped the American West.



On the distant margins of empire, Great Basin Indians increasingly found themselves engulfed in the chaotic storms of European expansion and responded in ways that refashioned themselves and those around them. Focusing on Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone Indians, Blackhawk illuminates this history through a lens of violence, excavating the myriad impacts of colonial expansion. Brutal networks of trade and slavery forged the Spanish borderlands, and the use of violence became for many Indians a necessary survival strategy, particularly after Mexican Independence when many became raiders and slave traffickers. Throughout such violent processes, these Native communities struggled to adapt to their changing environments, sometimes scoring remarkable political ends while suffering immense reprisals. Violence over the Land is a passionate reminder of the high costs that the making of American history occasioned for many indigenous peoples.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Blackhawk (history & American Indian studies, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison) begins with the premise that too many histories written about the United States downplay the violence perpetrated by its citizens on native peoples. Through his study of the experiences of the various Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone groups residing in what is now Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and California (the Great Basin), Blackhawk vividly demonstrates the importance of illuminating the consequences of that violence, which continue to reverberate today. It should be noted that Blackhawk, a Western Shoshone himself, does not portray the natives as victims. Instead, he demonstrates that their perseverance and ability to adapt to changing conditions over the last two centuries allowed them to help shape the world around them. This exceptional monograph is one of the finest studies available on the native peoples of the Great Basin region. Highly recommended for all public libraries and essential for academic libraries supporting programs in U.S. history. John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192682715
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	07/09/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

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