Is this book too biased for a history credit?

It has a clearly stated perspective, which is actually more honest than textbooks that pretend to be 'neutral.' It’s a perfect tool for teaching kids how to analyze a historian's argument and look at primary sources.

Is there a version for middle schoolers?

Yes. Look for 'An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People.' It’s adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese and is much better suited for the 10-14 age range.

How does this compare to Howard Zinn's 'A People's History'?

It’s a similar 'bottom-up' approach but much more focused. While Zinn covers the labor movement and various oppressed groups, Dunbar-Ortiz focuses specifically on the Indigenous experience as the central pillar of US history.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

book2014

91%

WISE Score

The history book your high school textbook was too scared to write. A brutal, brilliant reframing of the American story.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

book

2014

91%

WISE Score

The history book your high school textbook was too scared to write. A brutal, brilliant reframing of the American story.

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Screenwise Verdict

This is the 'red pill' for American history. If you want your kid to actually understand the country they live in, this book is non-negotiable. It’s a heavy lift, but it’s the kind of reading that builds a kid who is their own algorithm—someone who can see through marketing and myths to find the real story.

It isn't 'fun' in the way a novel is, but it is deeply engaging for a teen who is starting to question the world around them. It’s an essential piece of the literacy puzzle, building the kind of deep background knowledge that makes everything else they read make more sense.

Age Fit

Best for high schoolers (14+) and adults. It's a college-level text in terms of vocabulary and complexity. For middle schoolers, look for the 'Young People's' adaptation.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

It is emotionally taxing and intellectually rigorous. It models truth-telling and moral clarity rather than kindness or cooperation in the traditional sense.

Imaginative

It requires a massive leap of historical imagination to see the continent through a completely different lens than what is usually taught in schools.

Safe

As a book, it is physically safe, but the content includes graphic descriptions of historical violence and genocidal policies that can be distressing.

Enriching

This is a foundational text for background knowledge and verbal reasoning. It builds the comprehension strands of the 'Reading Rope' like few other history books.

Parent Info

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Why It Might Be Great

Radical perspective shift that centers the 15 million people who were here first, rather than treating them as a footnote to European arrival.
Connects the dots between 400-year-old colonial policies and modern-day movements like Standing Rock.
Antidote to 'brain rot' by forcing the reader to engage with complex, uncomfortable, and deeply important truths about power and land.
Builds massive background knowledge, which is a core pillar of long-term literacy and critical thinking.

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What to Watch For

It is emotionally heavy. Dunbar-Ortiz doesn't sugarcoat the 'genocidal program' of the US government. Expect descriptions of massacres and state-sponsored violence.
Academic density. This isn't a quick beach read. It’s a dense, footnoted history that requires focus.

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think our school textbooks usually start the story with explorers coming from Europe?"
"How does seeing the US as an 'empire' change the way we think about the land we live on today?"
"What does it mean to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day after reading this?"

Deep Dive

Beyond the Founding Myth

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz isn't interested in the 'Great Man' theory of history. She isn't here to tell you about brave pioneers or manifest destiny. Instead, she provides a 'bottom-up' history that treats the United States as a colonial project designed to seize territory. For a parent in 2026, this is the context your kid needs to understand everything from environmental protests to modern property laws.

The Reading Rope Connection

At Screenwise, we talk a lot about Hollis Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Most kids get the 'decoding' part down, but they struggle with the 'language comprehension' half—the stuff that requires background knowledge and vocabulary. This book is like a gym for that half of the rope. It introduces complex political structures, legal concepts, and historical threads that will make your kid sharper in every other subject they study.

How to Use This Well

If the original text feels too daunting for a 14-year-old, don't force it. There is a specifically adapted Young People's History of the United States that hits the same themes with more accessible language.

Better yet, watch Raoul Peck's HBO docuseries Exterminate All the Brutes together. It uses this book as a primary source and provides a visual punch that can help the history stick. Use the book as the deep-dive reference when the show sparks a 'wait, did that really happen?' moment. It usually did.

The teen-sized edition: An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People is the official young readers adaptation of this book (ages 11–99) — same core ideas, shorter and gentler in the telling. The right handoff for a curious kid who isn't ready for the original.

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