In celebration of National Native American Heritage Month, join us for a virtual book talk with historian Dr. Kathleen DuVal on her latest book, “Native Nations: A Millennium in North America,” winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, the Cundill History Prize and the Mark Lynton History Prize.
DuVal recounts how long before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. So, when Europeans showed up in the 16th century, they encountered societies they did not understand — those having developed differently from their own and whose power they often underestimated.
In the centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests: Mohawks closely controlled trade, Quapaws manipulated colonists, and Kiowas regulated the passage of settlers across their territory. Even as control of the continent shifted toward the United States through the 19th century, as “Native Nations” shows, the sovereignty and influence of Native people remained a constant — and will continue far into the future.
DuVal is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she teaches early American and American Indian history. Her previous work includes “Independence Lost,” which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize, and “The Native Ground: Indians and Colonists in the Heart of the Continent.”
This is a free event, but registration is required. For more information, contact education@lva.virginia.gov.
