Assimilation Is Surrender - by Valentin Lopez (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From a leader in the fight for sovereignty and visibility in Native California, a long-overdue corrective to California's colonial history, and a vision for healing and truth-telling.

The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, one of the original peoples of California, has been at the forefront of restoring Indigenous cultural traditions, telling the truth about the disastrous consequences of colonial history, and regaining stewardship over sacred lands. Valentin Lopez, who served as tribal chair for over 20 years, has worked tirelessly in the cause of Native visibility on local and international levels, and he has passionately supported efforts to help tribal members heal from the long-term wounds of colonialism and genocide.

Assimilation Is Surrender is Lopez's long-awaited history of his tribe, one of the first communities of California's Central Coast. Drawing on original research and Lopez's own experiences, this essential addition to California and Native history recounts Amah Mutsun tribal life before Europeans, the atrocities of the Spanish missions and the American invasion, and the generations-long work of recovery and cultural restoration.

With emphasis on the tribe's high-profile fight to protect its ancestral home, as well as the urgent need to address history's emotional costs, Assimilation Is Surrender is a must-read for reckoning with the recent past and imagining a more just future.

About the Author

Valentin Lopez served as Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band from 2003 to 2025, and as president of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust from its inception until 2025. Lopez was a Native American Advisor to the University of California's Office of the President from 2009 to 2023. He is a former Native American Advisor to the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and he is dedicated to restoring Indigenous knowledge and ensuring history is accurately told. Lopez lives near Sacramento, California.

Michelle K. Glowa is an associate professor in the department of anthropology and social change at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She previously worked with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band on an educational curriculum to help protect sacred sites.