In Native Nations: A Millennium in North America, Dr. Kathleen DuVal writes in the spirit of the growing number of historians providing a broad overview of North American economic history drawn from the perspective of Native nations, explicitly focusing on Native economic, political, and military power. DuVal differs from some other approaches by focusing on a handful of nations whose experiences she follows throughout time, from 1000 to the present, with the most significant emphasis between 1500 and the 1850s. This extensively researched book is relatively easy to read, given its structural design and an impressive feat of storytelling that illustrates broader historical themes.

DuVal seeks to demonstrate Native nations’ defining role and power over the geographic expanse of what is now the United States, spilling over the borders of Canada and Mexico. While many nations, places, and moments DuVal focuses on will be familiar to some readers, even well-versed readers in Indigenous history will gain some insight into the history of Native agency and power in North America.

The book is divided into two parts, each with six chapters. Part I discusses Indigenous peoples in North America from 1000 to 1750. Chapter 1 places Indigenous nations on a global stage, highlighting centralized agricultural societies, such as Cahokia, Huhugam, and Moundville. Chapter 2 details the decline of these urban spaces and the rise of more egalitarian social forms. Chapters 3 to 6 illustrate how Native nations managed European expansion and trade, selectively adopting European alliances and technologies, focusing on various groups like the Mohawk Nation and the O’odham.

Part II examines post-1750 Native efforts at unification, adaptation, and societal preservation. Chapters 7 and 8 cover the Shawnee and their political unification efforts against American encroachment, while Chapters 9 and 10 explore the distinct histories of the Cherokee and Kiowa and the evolution of their societies in response to technological and political change. Chapter 11 describes cross-Native Nation diplomacy and alliances and struggles against an expansionist American up to the start of the late nineteenth century. Chapter 12 concludes by giving a sweeping history of the post-1900 reservation period, discussing the uneven transition to increasing respect for Native collective and individual rights, and the emergence of cross-cultural identities and national Indigenous resurgence.

DuVal makes this complex history more digestible and human by focusing on examples of general phenomena and grounding the reader in each place and time. Admittedly, one not familiar with geography, nations, and colonial players may still find the text at times dizzying, but given the immensity of the task DuVal undertakes, it may be inventible.

While DuVal’s work is not strictly an economic history of North America, economic themes are central in the text. In every chapter, DuVal discusses at least one Native nation’s local economy, including the gendered dimensions of work and the goods produced and traded by the nation. Another prevalent theme is how Indigenous nations shaped global trade networks creating wealth that was, at times, violently transferred into non-Native hands. Economic factors are positioned as central when discussing population tragedies: there is barely a hint of the “virgin soil hypothesis” with Indigenous nations swept away by waves of uncontrollable contagious disease; instead, DuVal makes it clear that economic forces such as territorial, resource, and asset loss aggravated the effects of diseases.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Native Nations is the salience of the present throughout the book. DuVal highlights the modern existence of Native nations more clearly than many other authors I have read. In nearly every chapter, DuVal returns to a moment describing an experience with a colleague or friend or another important modern moment in Indigenous life. This is done seamlessly, so it never reads as forced or unnatural.

DuVal also integrates Indigenous scholarship throughout the book and makes their positionality clear. While the book’s tone may feel uncomfortable for readers used to histories that come from “the other side of the looking glass,” DuVal’s tone is wide-spread among Indigenous-centered histories, perhaps most clearly and explicitly in Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States (2015). DuVal frequently cites Indigenous scholars and offers a curated list of “further readings” by Native American scholars at the end of the book.

The only feature of the book that might leave a reader wanting is the number of bold claims that could have been more directly argued or unpacked. For example, in Chapter 9 regarding the Cherokee Nation, DuVal asserts that the Cherokee Nation’s process of centralization, bureaucratic establishment, and economic investments around land law “laid the groundwork for the Cherokee Nation to survive the era of Indian removal.” Two books are cited for this claim, which is on the surface plausible. However, DuVal misses the chance to connect this claim to the subsequent history later in the book. DuVal also makes the claim on page XXI that “it was in no way inevitable that Europeans and their descents would actually colonize the vast continent,” but this doesn’t feel fully fleshed out by the end of the book. In fact, as DuVal clearly states, colonization was never total and that Native Nations continue to govern millions of acres of the continent today, which feels somewhat at odds with the initial claim. A few other instances may strike a reader similarly. However, authors must make trade-offs between detailed argumentation and length, as in any grand historical narrative. However, regardless of a few quibbles around the dramatic use of language, it is clear that DuVal is a thoughtful and careful scholar.

As an overall summary, Native Nations stands out for its clarity, humanity, and commitment to respectful engagement with Indigenous perspectives. The book has both a sweeping scope and focuses on specifics. By engaging in grounded, effective storytelling, DuVal offers a compelling North American history defined by continuous Indigenous agency, resilience, and power. This would be a worthwhile read for anyone with some background in North American history. Even those well-versed in Indigenous history are likely to learn something new.