Why You Can't Teach United States History Without American Indians

The sovereignty of the United States emerged amid violent conflict with native peoples, and their prior claim to sovereign status. This history is acknowledged – only American Indian reservations have sovereignty within US borders – but centuries of denial have rendered it nearly invisible. One of our country’s leading scholars of indigenous rights, Jean O’Brien, explores conflicts over sovereignty in North America, and the racial struggles that persist within them.

This program is presented in partnership with the Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago, The Newberry Library, and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota.