Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States - (Revisioning History) by Paul Peart-Smith & Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

About the Book

"In stunning full color and accessible text, a graphic adaptation of the American Book Award winning history of the United States as told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples"--

Book Synopsis

WINNER OF 2025 OKLAHOMA BOOK AWARD IN BEST ILLUSTRATION

In stunning full color and accessible text, a graphic adaptation of the American Book Award winning history of the United States as told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples--perfect for readers of all ages

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's influential New York Times bestseller exposed the brutality of this nation's founding and its legacy of settler-colonialism and genocide. Through evocative full color artwork, renowned cartoonist Paul Peart-Smith brings this watershed book to life, centering the perspective of the peoples displaced by Europeans and their white descendants to trace Indigenous perseverance over four centuries against policies intended to obliterate them.

Recognized for his adaptation of W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk and his extensive expertise in the comics industry, Peart-Smith collaborates with experienced graphic novel editor Paul Buhle to provide an accessible introduction to a complex history that will attract new generations of readers of all ages. This striking graphic adaptation will rekindle crucial conversations about the centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regime that has largely been omitted from history.

Review Quotes

"Adapting a work of history as dense and as vital as Dunbar-Ortiz's An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (2014) to comics form is no easy feat, but Peart-Smith is up for the task . . . A thoughtful, radically hopeful work that is sure to resonate with readers of all ages."
--Booklist

"[Peart-Smith] consolidates a LOT of information into one coherent narrative, and what I especially like is how celebratory it is in the end. This is not a happy story, but it is a defiant one, and it even ends with a clearly stated process for what's next . . . This is a book that is very worth reading for anyone who wants to challenge what they think about American history."
--Comic Book Resources

"This isn't simply a story of oppression. It's equally a history of resistance . . . [it] should be on every library's shelves. Now more than ever."
--Broken Frontier

About the Author

Paul Peart-Smith is a celebrated cartoonist of over 35 years, with experience in concept art, graphic design, and animation. Having studied to be an Illustrator in Cambridge, England, he has worked on comics for2000 AD, including Slaughter Bowl from its digital-only collections. He is the illustrator and adapter of W. E. B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk: A Graphic Interpretation. He lives in Tasmania, Australia.

Paul Buhle, retired Senior Lecturer at Brown University, is the authorized biographer of Pan African giant C.L.R. James. He has edited over a dozen nonfiction graphic novels, including Studs Terkel's Working and A Peoples' History of the American Empire (a graphic adaptation of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States). He worked with David Lester and Marcus Rediker to produce Prophet against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, a Graphic Novel (Beacon 2021). Buhle lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma in a tenant farming family. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than four decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. Dunbar-Ortiz is the winner of the 2017 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize and a recipient of the American Book Award (2015) for An Indigenous History of the United States. The author or editor of numerous books, including Not "A Nation of Immigrants,"she lives in San Francisco. Connect with her at reddirtsite.com or on Twitter @rdunbaro.